Konoha's Dark Princess
by anime-manga-lover-11
Summary: "What is your name?" "Uzumaki-Namikaze Akemi Naru." "What do you want?" "I just wanted to be acknowledged." "You do realize that they acknowledged Uzumaki Naruto, right? They never acknowledged YOU." ". . . I know." "Do you or do you not want to go back?" ". . . of course I do." Full summary inside. FemNaru. Rated T for future cursing.
1. Prologue: Beginning from the End

_**Konoha's Dark Princess**_

_**A Naruto fanfic by anime-manga-lover-11**_

_**AN: Yeah, um, I know. It's a bad title but don't blame me! All the good ones were taken. . . T_T**_

_**I'm sorry I haven't updated on "Eyeshield 21: Two faces in One" for quite a while. I'm still making new chapters for that so, yeah. To be honest, I've wanted to post a FemNaru story for quite a while now so, here.**_

_**Warning! Major Sakura bashing. Sorry Sakura fans, this is necessary for my story and I really don't like Sakura that much. My friend and I think she's kind of useless. Even after training with Tsunade, Naruto can whoop her ass if he wanted to.**_

_**Notice: Oh, and in my story, everyone in Konoha 12 survived the war. Kind of necessary you know?**_

"Speaking"

'_Thinking'_

'_**Kyuubi Thoughts'**_

**Jutsu (Jutsu Translation)**

_**Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: All rights reserved with Masashi Kishimoto. If I actually DID own Naruto well, let's just say that kids wouldn't watch it.**_

Summary: When his friends were ordered to end his life under the pain of death of them and their families, they did. The elders (Homura and Koharu) didn't want their "Last Uchiha" to have any competition for the Hokage hat. . . even if he didn't want it. A pity, really, that none of them knew all "his" secrets. FemNaru! Will be a slightly DarkNaru in future chapters.

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"_Insincere and evil friends are to be feared more than wild beasts. A wild beast may wound your body, but evil friends may wound your mind." -Buddha_

_**Prologue: Beginning from the End**_

_**(Normal P.O.V.)**_

He was drowning.

Is this what death was supposed to feel like? Funny, really. He always thought that, if he died, he would see the Shinigami. Maybe he also could've struck a deal with the Death God into eating him so he could join his father. At least his "happy ending" would've been with his dad. Another irony was that he thought that he might die in a heroic way. You know, protecting his precious people. Instead, his death, and his life, will never be happy. He knew this for a fact because the very people he swore to protect. . . were the ones who ended his life.

Oh no, he was pretty sure that _some _of them didn't take part in it. He only recognized a few voices before, as they so kindly put it, snuffed him out. Gaara definitely had nothing to do with it. He was the Kazekage and, on top of that, was in Suna; like the rest of the Sand siblings were.

Neji and his team would never do it. The Hyuuga prodigy was "in his debt" in more ways than one and Lee would never do something so "unyouthful." It was the same with Gai and TenTen wouldn't do anything if her teammates were against it. Though, Naruto did have enough reason to think that they _did _know about the mission to kill him. . . and did nothing about it. Not even a single warning.

He wasn't so sure of Hinata's team. Though, he definitely heard Akamaru barking all the way through his demise. He still wasn't sure if Hinata herself was there. Shino too, for that matter. Kiba, of course, was a solid suspect because of Akamaru.

Then there was Team 10. Shikamaru trapped him with that stupid **Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique) **and Ino knocked him out with some sleeping extract he remembered her mentioning; one that came from those plants she tended at the shop. Choji. . . no, he wasn't there. He would've heard some kind of mumbling or munching or something. The aforementioned people who he knew participated in his death seemed to ignore that Choji wasn't with them.

And lastly, his own teammates. Sai was definitely there, he was the one who distracted him while the others got into position. Sakura. . . the medic-nin herself was the one who explained why they were doing that. Sasuke-kun this and Sasuke-kun that, that was all she ever thought about. The Teme himself was nowhere to be seen, but it was his entire goddamn fault that _this _happened. He actually thought that his pathetic life (right up front from his childhood) would at _least_ have a happy ending.

That probably would never happen if he stays as Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto.

Naruto, the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, Kurama. Apprentice of Jiraiya, the Toad Sage Sannin and currently the newly appointed Toad Sage of Mt. Myoboku. Naruto, the Hero of the 4th Great Shinobi World War. . . and the one who brought Uchiha Sasuke back to Konoha.

The best ever title he received, however, was to be a candidate for the position of Rokudaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato.

'_Was,' _Naruto thought bitterly. The tone he used in his head was a bitter one, one that no one has ever heard him use before. _'Those bastard elders are behind this, I just know it. And those __**fuckers **__I called my friends did the job.'_

'_**Kit,' **_Kyuubi's voice resounded in his thoughts. _**'We both know that they didn't want to do it. Well, except for that Sakura girl. She seemed like she'd do anything for the Uchiha bastard,' **_the Kyuubi growled out. _**'Even if he threatened to kill her, she forgave him after a single sorry? Isn't she supposed to be the smart one in your team?'**_

'_If it had anything to do with Sasuke-teme, she'd do it in a heartbeat. Sakura was always that way. I'll admit I hoped that she grew out of that, but I guess I was wrong.'_

'_**Oh? No Sakura-CHAN this time? Remind me again why you chose HER of all people to pretend to have a crush on and WHY you saved the Uchiha?'**_

'_I. . . pitied, the pink-haired bitch,' _Naruto admitted. _'She really was no beauty. With that huge forehead and know-it-all attitude, she'd __**never **__get any guys.'_

Kyuubi chuckled. _**'Then, what about the Uchiha? Why did you save him?'**_

Outside, Naruto's eyes narrowed but, inside, he spoke rather calmly. _'For the same reasons as before. I thought of him as my best friend, my brother. That was, of course, before he took everything away from me when he got back. The Hokage position, the villagers' trust, Kakashi-sensei. I thought that my friends would still be there for me but, I guess I was wrong when they took my life. Apparently, that was the only other thing they could take.'_

After the blonde's proclamation, both stayed quiet in a comfortable silence. Both waiting for the judgment to decide how they would handle their afterlife. Naruto was just lying there, suspended as if it were air but sinking deeper as if it were water so he couldn't be sure.

"Kyuubi," Naruto started, voicing his thoughts. He was amazed that he could talk freely. The bubbles that were coming from his mouth indicated he was in water, but he could still breathe in it.

'_**Call me Kurama, kit,' **_Kyuubi (now Kurama) said quietly. _**'We're partners after all.'**_

"All right, Kurama," Naruto sighed. "Am I. . . am I really dead?"

Kurama was silent for a moment, deep in thought. _**'Can't be sure, kit. Though, there is one thing I'm certain of.'**_

"What's that?"

'_**We're about to meet the Shinigami.'**_

Naruto felt himself being dragged deeper and deeper into this cursed water called "death". At first, he tried to resist. Not like it was helping him in any way, but Kurama insisted that he stop. In the end, the blonde Jinchuriki complied.

The water got darker, blacker, and murkier. The little light that was allowed faded away, leaving him in the dark. Naruto didn't know how, nor did he care anymore, but he could still breathe as easily as if he were on land.

"Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto," a voice echoed through the depths of the water. It was not the threatening voice of the Shinigami that was expected, but a soft and feminine one.

"Who. . . are you?" Naruto's voice was a whisper, but it echoed around and was heard. Even _if_ there were bubbles coming out of his mouth.

"Why, I am the Shinigami, of course," the voice replied and a resounding flash caused the blonde to close his eyes. When he opened them again, he found himself standing and facing the. . . Shinigami.

Honestly, he expected to see a big and ugly old dude with wrinkled purple skin, a tongue longer than Orochimaru-teme, white and wild hair with prayer beads or something. Instead, he got a girl with blood red hair, black eyes, and womanly features; curves and all. She was wearing a white kimono with a red obi around her waist. How lucky could a man get with such a beautiful woman to meet them in death?

"Y-You're the Shinigami?" Naruto was clearly surprised.

"Of course," the girl giggled and Naruto blushed out of embarrassment for stating the obvious.

"But. . . my dad," the blond started. "H-He described the Shinigami as this really ugly old dude with wrinkled skin and demonic aura."

The girl twitched a bit at the description but settled for a sigh. "This is why I hate stereotypes," she muttered before speaking to Naruto once more. "That is the form I take _only _when I am summoned through the **Shiki Fūjin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal)**. It would not have been classified as a Kinjutsu otherwise. I prefer this form, you see?" and she twirled around to show off the rest of the Kimono. It was just as simple as the front but still breathtakingly beautiful at its elegance.

"So. . ." Naruto started. "My dad is inside _your _belly?"

"Well. . . not exactly. Your father is inside the stomach of my _other _form. The, and I quote, 'really ugly old dude with wrinkled skin and demonic aura'," she finished sourly. Apparently, the Shinigami didn't like anyone criticizing either of her forms.

"Ehehehe. . ." Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "No offense to you, Shinigami-sama."

"None taken," she replied coldly and, by that tone, it probably meant that offense was _indeed _taken. Naruto, on the other hand, was too busy thinking to pay any attention to her Royal Death. It was weird, you know? A pretty woman saying _she _was the Shinigami, yet claiming that his dad was not inside "her"?

"Why are you in that form then?" Naruto couldn't help but ask.

Shinigami-sama tilted her head slightly, as if assessing the question. "Why are _you _in that form, Uzumaki-Namikaze Akemi Naru?"

The blond stilled at the sound of his – no. _Her,_ full name. The only people who ever knew that Naruto was a girl, whose real name was Naru, are dead. Sandaime-jiji put the seal on her and Ero-sennin strengthened its properties. The seal was actually Minato's idea in the first place, in case she ended up being a girl. The Yondaime always did think up the weirdest possibilities, but he always had a basis. Her parents didn't know what her gender was going to be until she came out of her mom. The chances of Naru being a Jinchuriki were slim, but possible since Kushina was the current Jinchuriki at that time. They knew that the seal of a female Jinchuriki weakens during childbirth so, yeah.

It was a weird conclusion, but Minato thought that, if worse came to worse, he'd have to seal the Kyuubi into his kid. All the more reason to make a spare seal that would put up a semi-permanent henge since he didn't know if his kid was going to be a he or a she.

The Yondaime was an extremely cautious man, and cautious people are ones who should be feared. They always have back-up plans for back-up plans. They always thought of the worst, yet possible, scenarios. And because of all the precautions Minato made for his daughter, it gave Naru a warm feeling in her heart to know that he cared.

Naru sighed. "I suppose it's appropriate that Shinigami-sama knows about my being a girl, when others couldn't tell the difference."

Said Death God simply snorted. "I'm supposed to know everything regarding the souls that enter my realm. Now, please remove the seal keeping you in that henge. Jiraiya taught you how to remove it, right? Good. Now, don't be shy, we're both girls anyways."

Naru observed her chances of not being subjected to humiliation for being a girl. Not seeing any way out of this predicament, she nodded and pulled up her baggy jumpsuit and mesh shirt. Channeling a bit of chakra, the Kyuubi seal appeared. . . along with another one.

This seal was simply surrounding the Kyuubi one. There were commas at the North, Northeast, East, Southeast, South, Southwest, and West of the aforementioned seal. The commas were connected by curved lines with the Kanji for **Henge (****ヘンジ****)**

The blond Jinchuriki bit her thumb hard enough for blood to come out. After a few minutes, she was able to write **Release (****解放****)** over the Kyuubi seal in her blood.

"Woah, woah, woah," the Shinigami stressed out. "Are you sure you're supposed to put 'Release' _over _the seal keeping the big guy in? We don't want him to get out now, you know. . ."

Naru just looked at her weirdly. "The chakra sustaining the Henge seal belongs to the Kyuubi. That's part of the reason why the Byakugan and the Sharingan couldn't detect, or rather distinguish, the 2 seals. Because Kyu -" _**'Kit,' **_the nine-tailed demon growled in an annoyed tone, "– I mean, Kurama. Because Kurama's chakra is inside me and, essentially, a part of me, no one would question it."

"Oh. . ." the red-head replied weakly.

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "I thought that the Shinigami was supposed to know everything about the souls that enter its realm?"

The Death God flushed in embarrassment. "I-I knew that! I. . . I was just testing you! Yeah, that was it. I needed to see if you actually knew what you were doing," and she nodded as if she won a difficult debate.

Naru sweatdropped at the obvious lie but decided to examine the release formula for any flaws. When she found none, she put her hands together and formed a Ram seal.

"Kai!" she yelled and chakra gathered momentarily before expelling and leaving a cloud of white smoke in its wake.

When the smoke dispersed fully, in Naruto' place was a young lady. She was a few inches shorter than the blonde male but still relatively tall. She had blonde waist-length hair but had faded red streaks that darkened as it got lower until the tips of her hair were completely red. She was still wearing the black and orange jumpsuit that Naruto always wore so you couldn't see much of her petite, yet firm, body structure. The woman had a delicate heart-shaped face, slightly high cheekbones (with thin whisker marks adorning them, giving them a little emphasis), full pink lips, and long eyelashes.

Her most striking feature, however, were her eyes.

Sky-and-ocean-blue eyes. Those beautiful orbs that expressed so much and has been through so much suffering and pain. Even then, their brightness showed so much happiness and gave warmth to anyone who saw them light up with a bright smile or filled with mischief.

But now, they were broken. Dull. Lifeless. And the beautiful lady who possessed them had a blank look on her face. The mask that was once named Uzumaki Naruto was now. . . gone.

The Shinigami smiled at her sadly. "They really broke you, huh?"

Naru gave a tortured and hollowed laugh. "How would you feel if the people you love betray _you_? It's worse than when Sasuke-teme left Konoha."

Both women were silent and the Shinigami thought for a bit.

She remembered watching the bright soul live her life then. It was kind of her responsibility to make sure the seal was working properly for the first few years but, instead, she became intrigued by the young blonde.

The girl was always smiling, always happy. At least, that's what everyone saw. If only she was a bit more assertive, she would never have had to go through so much. . . _pain. _She would have been happy, truly happy, if she didn't give up her life for others. . . only for said people to betray her in the end.

A pity they didn't have a choice, though their reasons were not a good excuse. If they truly did treasure Naru, their _friend_, as they claimed, the thought of ending her life would never have even crossed their minds.

"Do you hate them?"

The blonde's shoulders slumped and her beautiful face grew weary. "That's the thing. I can't bring myself to hate them. Well, with the exception of Sakura. I really want to hate the rest of them, but. . . I can't. And I don't know why."

The Death God examined the soul in front of her once more. Ever since the Kyuubi agreed to their partnership with the blonde, they have been slowly merging with one another. Kurama knew this, and he gladly let his abilities merge with the "Kit". Even though Kurama's soul would still be inside Naru, his abilities would soon be under her control. . . which includes the Tailed Beast Ball and Tailed Beast Transformation. However, if Naru wanted to, she could just summon the Kyuubi himself. A part of the fox's soul would be summoned through the seal and, with enough chakra, he would get a temporary body; nine tails and all.

Anyways, back to the matter at hand.

The Shinigami doubted that Kurama would want his abilities, and him, to die because of a few pathetic humans. And she didn't want Naru to enter heaven _or _hell, the girl wasn't even supposed to die yet!

The red-head sighed. Being the ruler of Death gives you such a headache. And the paperwork! My God, the demonic _paperwork_, she shuddered.

Looking once more at the blonde in front of her, she made her decision. Sure, both of them would have to go through some boring discussion but the images were, most of the time, a pleasant thing to see.

She sighed. "Come on, Naru," the red-head started and held her hand out.

The blonde just looked at the hand in surprise. "What?"

"Take my hand."

"Why?"

The Death God sighed again. "Just do it."

The Kunoichi took her hand uncertainly. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere," the other woman answered back vaguely and with a blaze of fire, both women disappeared.

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When both girls appeared once more, they were in an unfamiliar place. Well, at least it was unfamiliar to Naru.

It was like a temple or a palace. Everything was made up of white marble, even the pillars that supported the ceiling. The place they were in also looked like a really big room or a very long hallway. There were no doorways or windows, but there was a cool wind blowing inside somewhere. In front of the ladies were some marble steps. It looked like the steps you would see in a throne room, except there was no throne. On the place where the throne _should_ be was a diamond imbedded on the floor. The diamond was cut horizontally; on the top half was the Kanji for "Death (死)" and on the bottom was the Kanji for "Rebirth (再生)".

The marble floor was white and smooth while the ceiling was black. The ceiling reflected the night sky and the stars were twinkling with a crescent moon in the middle of it all.

That was when Naru noticed the walls beyond the pillars.

Her eyes widened. "Woah. . ."

"I know right?" the Shinigami replied with a smirk.

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_**AN: Uh. . . before I explain any further, I like to make an announcement.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the House of Life's Throne room from Kane Chronicles. I simply wanted to imitate it for my story. Forgive me Rick Riordan!**_

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The walls had life-like drawings on them but what was most surprising was the fact that they were _moving_.

The wall nearest to them was depicting the Nine-tailed fox and a Shinobi with blonde hair riding it. They were going head-on with the Gedo Statue that had a man in purple robes and a white mask with black markings standing on top of it.

The blonde gasped. "Th-That's the 4th Great Shinobi World War! How. . ."

Her red-haired companion sighed. "I suppose we should start from the beginning. Take my hand again, it is a rather _long _hallway."

Naru, with much more certainty, took her hand once more and both disappeared again in a column of flames.

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Both appeared later on at the other end of the hall. The blonde could now see how long the hall really was; she couldn't even catch a glimpse of the marble steps anymore.

Going back to why the Shinigami brought her to the "beginning", she looked around at the walls again.

This side of the hall seemed a bit darker than the other. The figures twisted and changed so much that Naru wasn't able to distinguish them anymore. Though, a lone figure kept appearing among the others.

The figure was a man. Granted, it was just a silhouette of a man, but still. The only things visible were six magatama around his neck and his eyes. His eyes were so much like. . . Nagato's. . .

"Who's that?"

The Shinigami looked at where the blonde pointed and saw the figure as well, Her lips formed a skewed smile. "That, my friend, is the Sage of Six Paths. Creator and Father of Ninja and all things Ninjutsu and wielder of the Legendary -"

"Rinnegan," Naru finished quietly. "Just like Nagato. . ."

The red-head looked at her young companion with a small smile. Judging by the faraway look in her eyes, she was going on a trip down memory lane.

"Come," the Shinigami finally said to the blonde and walked further inside the hall. "I'll tell you the story."

Naru snapped out of her trance and jogged to catch up with the red-head.

"You know the story of the Sage of Six Paths being the Jinchuriki of the Juubi, right?"

The blonde girl simply nodded.

"Well, I'll tell you the story anyways. The Sage was, for lack of a better term, a monk. He was the first to discover the truth about chakra and tried to lead the world to peace, instead of conflict. His desire to bring peace earned him the name of **Saviour**.

"At the time of the Sage's death, as you know, he split the Juubi's chakra into nine different entities, also known as the Tailed Beasts. While the chakra was split and given its own personality and name, the body of the Juubi was encased inside a stone and, later on, was hurled to the heavens, creating the moon.

"Another even that transpired at the moment of the Sage's death was the entrustment of his strength, dream, and legacy to one of his sons. By tradition, it is customary for the father to give everything to his eldest. However, he wished to give it to the youngest instead."

"Why?" Even if Naru already heard this story before, it seemed much more believable to hear it from someone who existed since the dawn of creation.

"Let's just say that the eldest's views of the world were. . . tainted." They stopped to look at the drawings on the walls again. This time, they showed an old man on his death bed with 2 young men on either side of him.

"At a young age, the eldest experienced the destruction of the Juubi. It scarred him, changed him. From then on, he thought that the true key to peace was power." The scene changed and it showed a little boy looking at a one-eyed monster with ten tails in fear. Apparently, he grew even more afraid when the Sage (his father) engaged it in battle before sealing it.

The Shinigami continued her story. "The youngest was not old enough to remember, or even witness, this event. He still believed that peace could be achieved without fighting. In the eyes of the eldest, he was naïve.

"Though it was tradition to give the eldest his birthright, the Sage, instead, divided his power among the two." The drawings shifted once more until it showed the silhouettes of 2 men. One had glowing red eyes whereas the other had some kind of white flame surrounding him. Both females resumed walking the long hallway.

"The youngest inherited the Sage's 'body', his powerful will and physical energy. He is the ancestor of the Senju and, though distant, the Uzumaki as well," without stopping her pace, the Shinigami looked at Naru in the eye. "_Your _clan."

The blonde's eyes widened. "No way. . ."

The red-head nodded. "The eldest, meanwhile, inherited the Sage's 'eyes'; his powerful chakra and spiritual energy. It is said that his eyes were the basis or that they were mutated into the 2 major dōjutsu in the ninja world: the _Byakugan _and the _Sharingan_."

"So that means. . ."

"Yes. The eldest is the ancestor of the Uchiha."

"But then -"

The Shinigami raised her hand. "Story first, questions later."

Naru huffed, but nodded. "So, what happened next?"

"Even if the Sage's power was divided amongst the two, there was still the choice of who he wished to carry on his work of peace. On his death bed, he chose the youngest to succeed him.

"Overcome by bitterness and envy, the older son attacked the younger, beginning a war between them. Their feud continued on through their descendents: the Senju and the Uchiha. Any questions?"

"If the elder son got the Sage's eyes, why don't Sasuke and the rest of the Uchiha have the Rinnegan? Why the Sharingan?" Naru immediately questioned.

"The Sage divided his power between the two, remember? While the Sage's power runs through both of the sons, only a child of an Uchiha and a Senju could possess the Rinnegan. The child would, essentially, be the second coming of the Sage of Six Paths."

"You mean Nagato. . ."

The red-head nodded. "I suppose he was. But I know Madara, or rather, Obito, had something to do with it."

Naru gripped her fist. "Even then, Obito. . .!"

"Naru," the Shinigami said in a warning tone. "Calm down. It's over now. It's in the past."

After a while, the blonde calmed down. "This is all very interesting, Shinigami-sama. But why are you showing me this in the first place?"

The Death God smiled. "It's customary for the dead to see the beginning of the world they live in; especially ninja. The thing I need to show you is this," she took the blonde's hand once more and was gone in flames of fire.

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Naru glared at her companion as they appeared again. "You could've warned me that you were going to do that, you know?" It didn't hurt, really. The young female just liked to know what's going to happen to her and stuff.

The other woman shrugged. "Eh. It wouldn't have been half as fun then."

The blonde ignored her in favor of observing the hall once more. She knew they were farther in because the drawings showed advanced civilization.

The problem was, it was in ruins.

"W-What happened?" Naru gasped and, as if to answer her question, a red fox monster with nine tails appeared.

"K-Kurama?" she whispered. The real fox inside her stayed silent, and watched the scenes unfold through Naru's eyes.

"The day of the Kyuubi attack," the Shinigami answered her. "The night of the 10th of October, the day your life began."

"T-This is K-Konoha?"

"Touch the wall," the red-head urged her. "Hurry!"

Naru was stunned for a moment before she walked over to the wall. Taking a deep breath, she touched it with the palm of her hand.

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Once the blonde opened her eyes, she found herself in. . . the Hokage tower. Specifically, the roof.

Naru opened her mouth but a hand covered it. Looking around, she saw that it was just the Shinigami.

"Don't say a word, okay? Just watch," and the red-head turned to look at an old man near the edge of the roof. He was dressed in his, what Naru assumed, battle armor and had a staff with one. . . eye. . .

"Before you ask," the Death God started when Naru opened her mouth. "Yes, that _is _the Monkey King Enma staff." Naru opened her mouth again but her companion beat her to it, "And yes, that _is _the Sandaime Hokage."

The blonde gaped at her before turning to stare at Sarutobi Hiruzen. The old man was facing the direction where the Kyuubi was causing havoc.

"_Sarutobi," a voice started and Naru jumped that the one-eyed staff could talk. "I may be strong, but even I am not strong enough to defeat the strongest of the Biju."_

"_I know, my friend," the Sandaime replied. "I do not expect you to defeat the Kyuubi. I just wish for you to be able to direct it out of the village. Just in time for my successor to arrive and finish the job," and he gave off a weary sigh._

Naru almost broke down in tears just for hearing his voice. The one person who truly cared for her since the very beginning. . . was the only one she couldn't protect.

"_I hope you aren't tired before the real battle begins, Sandaime-sama," a new voice said. _

Naru jumped about 5 ft in the air and she instinctively took on a battle stance; much to the Shinigami's amusement.

"Relax," she told Naru and the blonde did so sheepishly. Both then observed the newcomer.

The newcomer was a man wearing an all-black version of the standard leaf Shinobi uniform. Over his green flak jacket, he wore a white coat that reached his ankles and the bottom part was licked with orange and yellow flames. At the back of the coat, in red, was the Kanji for "Yondaime Hokage (四代目火影)".

The fact that this man was the greatest Hokage Konoha ever had did not shock Naru. Nor did his choice of clothing deter her. No, it was because this man had blonde hair and blue eyes. . . like her.

"Tou-san. . ." she whispered. Only know did she realize that they did not notice her presence.

"This is just a memory, Naru," her red-haired companion said quietly. "We're not exactly here, we're just seeing these events. To them, we are nothing more than ghosts."

"Why are you showing me this, then?"

"Simple. You need to know."

At the blonde's confused look, the Shinigami let out an exasperated sigh. "Just watch."

Naru was, however, already listening to her father's and the Sandaime's conversation. The young Kunoichi found them a bit more interesting than the Death God, to be honest.

"_Minato," Sarutobi let out a relieved sigh and he relaxed visibly. "You came."_

"_I had some trouble along the way," the Yondaime admitted with a sheepish grin and a shrug. "Had to take care of a nuisance and get my precious little girl."_

_Only then did they all notice the bundle of blankets the blonde man was carrying._

"_Girl. . .?" the Sandaime said, dumbfounded. "I thought you and Kushina were expecting a boy?"_

_Minato rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, well, the point is, she's a girl. . . and I am officially a father." A warm smile graced his face as he looked at the sleeping toddler._

Naru felt tears going down her face. This man, her father, had such a gentle look on his face. His smile was so full of love and care and. . . and it was directed to her.

Never, in her entire life, has she felt so much love. As much care and attention Sarutobi gave her, it was not the same as a father's love. Like he was saying that she was "Daddy's little girl", or something. Even the flashback her mom showed her when she tried to tame the Kyuubi would never, could never, compare to seeing it for herself; with her own eyes.

The roar of a certain fox broke the, otherwise serene, silence.

_Minato, back to his Kage mode, turned to Sarutobi. "Sandaime-sama, I have a request to make of you."_

"_What is it, Minato?"_

"_Uh. . . make that 2 requests."_

_The old man sighed wearily but still chuckled. "Minato, what do you wish for me to do?"_

"_I have a plan to stop the Kyuubi," the blonde man said in a rush. "But I need your help. . . and your promise."_

_The Third Hokage raised an eyebrow. "My promise?"_

"_I'm planning to seal the demon inside my daughter."_

_Silence reigned over the 2 men. The women, however, had solemn looks on their faces; both knew how this was going to end. Though a certain blonde girl didn't know about this conversation taking place._

"_Minato, you can't be serious!"_

"_I am," the Yondaime stated calmly._

"_Then," Hiruzen started. "Do you know what kind of life you are leaving for her to handle?"_

_The blonde man had a puzzled look on his face. He had an inkling as to what the old man was implying but he couldn't be sure. "What are you talking about?"_

"_My sensei's, the Shodaime's, wife, Uzumaki Mito. The Jinchuriki before Kushina, your wife."_

"_What has this got to do with my wife!?" Minato growled, jostling the baby in his arms a bit. Said baby whimpered and her father tried to rock her back to slumber._

"_It has everything to do with your wife!" Sarutobi snapped lowly so as not to wake the child. "Mito-sama, after her people discovered that she carried the Kyuubi, was shunned. They thought that the demon took over her body, and treated her as such. Your wife -"_

" – _was neglected and out-casted by most of the people in the village," the blonde finished quietly. Kushina never said a word about it, but he knew. It was kind of hard to miss the glares and whispers, albeit they were only a few people who knew._

_The Sandaime hung his head. "The Jounins and elders had to know what became of the monster. I couldn't do anything else."_

"_Which is why I need your word. I need you to promise that you will protect my daughter when I die."_

"_When you die!? You just need to seal that demon! Why would you die!?"_

"_The _**Shiki Fūjin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal) **_requires the sacrifice of the life of the caster. To condemn someone to the life of a Jinchuriki; a life, for a life. A seal this powerful comes with a price, you know," he grimaced._

"_Then," Sarutobi started sternly. "I'll do it. The village needs you more than me, Minato. Your daughter needs you more than me!"_

_The Yondaime gave him a sad smile. "Sandaime-sama, you're retired. You appointed me as your successor, as the Yondaime. What kind of Hokage would I be if I choose to save my own life, instead of the village I swore to protect? Not a very good one, in my opinion."_

"_Then why, pray tell, did you decide to make your only child a living sacrifice!"_

_The blonde smiled an even sadder one as he looked at the little bundle in his arms. "What kind of Hokage would I be. . ." he started quietly. "If I ask someone else to do something I, myself, am not willing to do. . .?" His sky-blue eyes met the brown orbs of the Sandaime, "It's not easy for a parent to do this to their own child." The blonde walked pass Sarutobi, to the edge of the roof of the Hokage tower, just as the Kyuubi roared again. "Please, don't make this any harder than it already is."_

_The old man bowed his head in resignation, "Minato. . ."_

"_Sandaime-sama, I want – no, need, your word. Protect my daughter, please."_

"_. . . I promise," Sarutobi said and his eyes twinkled a bit in amusement. "I suppose you need to decide on a name for the girl."_

_Minato sweatdropped a bit. 'Of course the old man would be amused,' he thought. 'After all, Kushina and I spent a hell lot of time just to decide on a name for a boy.'_

_The Yondaime chuckled. "Kushina wanted to name her Akemi when we found out but. . ." the blonde man pouted a bit. "I wanted to name our kid Naruto. . ."_

"_Hmm. . ." Sarutobi thought. "Akemi, huh. . ." he muttered to himself a bit. "Isn't Naruto a boy's name?"_

"_Yeah. . . that's why Kushina refused to name her that."_

"_Then how about. . . Namikaze Akemi Naru?"_

_Minato looked surprised before his eyes glazed over a bit. "Naru. . . that sounds nice."_

_The Sandaime chuckled. "Naru it is, then," and he sighed before raising an eyebrow. "Your last request, Minato?"_

_The blonde man stayed silent before pulling out a scroll. "Here," he said and held it out to his predecessor._

_Sarutobi took it carefully and opened the scroll. Inside was such an intricate seal that the only thing the old man could make out was the Kanji of _**Henge (****ヘンジ****)**_as well as instructions on how to activate it. "What's this?"_

"_It is a semi-permanent henge I designed for Naru. I sent Jiraiya-sensei a letter a few minutes prior and requested him to make a much more advanced yet simple seal than that."_

"_But what is it for?"_

"_After I seal the Kyuubi inside her, I want you to perform this over the Kyuubi one and the rest is up to the seal."_

"_Minato. . . what will it do?"_

_The Yondaime sighed wearily. "I love this village, I really do, but. . . hatred is a powerful emotion. Women are much more prone to that emotion since their muscles are not developed at an early age like men. So they are usually taken advantage of." He turned to look at the Sandaime. "If worst comes to worst, that Henge Seal will turn Naru into a boy. I want you to make sure she knows that she is a girl and that the seal is for her own safety."_

_The old man's eyes widened. "Why - ?!"_

"_I don't want anything to happen to her," Minato cut in. "The ninja world has this 'cycle of hatred'," the blonde quoted from one of his sensei's books. "If that hatred is as strong as I think it is, then the people of this village will take revenge in any way possible to soothe their anger. In this case, they take out their anger on the one that caused their pain: the Kyuubi. Do you see where I'm going? We __**were**__ talking about it earlier."_

_The Sandaime sighed. "So you think that, in addition to being ostracized, she will also be hurt in. . . different aspects? Can the people of this village really do that to an innocent child?"_

"_I don't know," Minato admitted. "I hope not. I don't want you to tell anyone that she's mine or Kushina's daughter. Many of Kushina's and my enemies will stop at nothing to kill the Yellow Flash's legacy. Please, she doesn't need to know her parents until she's strong enough. But being a girl is something Naru needs to know."_

"_Do you want her to live as a boy all her life?"_

"_If that's what she wants, then so be it. Since I won't be around to see her grow up, the least I could do is protect her in any way possible. If Naru thinks that being a boy is better than living as a girl, fine. I'm not expecting any grandchildren anyways."_

_Sarutobi hesitated a bit. "Should I. . . tell Kakashi? About this?"_

_Minato's eyes narrowed a bit but he sighed. "You can tell him that Naru's my child. However, he cannot know that Naru's a girl. Only you, Jiraiya, and maybe even Tsunade, can be in on this secret."_

_The old man processed everything in his head. "So all I have to do is cast this seal on her and everything will be done? She'll just turn into a boy just like that?"_

_The Yondaime nodded. "This is something I made ahead of time, in case Kushina might go on an espionage mission and need to change her appearance. The seal uses the Kyuubi's chakra so it will be perfect for a Jinchuriki. I've sent Jiraiya my notes and explained the circumstances. Hopefully, he would have the completed the seal by then."_

"_You mean to say this is the incomplete version?"_

"_Yes. The casters needs to use his or her own blood to make the seal, thus tying it to his or her life force. With the casters chakra added into activating it, the bond between seal and caster will be stronger."_

"_That means. . ."_

"_Hai. At the time of your death, Sandaime-sama, the seal would stop working. That's why I requested sensei to make a completed version of this one."_

_Sarutobi chuckled. "You have given so much for an old man to do, Minato. Anything else you might need to tell me?"_

"_Hai. It would be much appreciated if you could direct the Kyuubi out of the village, if only a little bit."_

"_I shall do my best," and the old man raised his Adamantine Staff._

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Naru flinched a bit when she felt a hand on her shoulder. The blonde looked away from the exchange to see the Shinigami. The red-head raised her hand and wiped away the tears that were forming in the blonde's eyes.

"The moment you were brought to the reinstated Third Hokage of Konoha as the Kyuubi vessel, he dismissed everyone, including his ANBU, inside and performed the seal on you. No one bothered to see if you were a boy or a girl so when the council and the surviving Shinobi and civilians gathered, you were introduced as Uzumaki Naruto. . . and as the male Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. The Sandaime eventually thought that, even if your mother was well-known, not much people knew her last name and so he gave you the title of Uzumaki. Naruto was something of a memoir to the Yondaime, seeing as he would've liked to have named his son that." The Death God gestured to the havoc a certain fox was making, "I guess you could just fill out what happened the rest of this day."

Naru nodded, signifying that she understood. But even if she did, she was only partly paying attention.

The destruction Kurama left in his wake was _enormous_.

20 ft trees were uprooted, burned, or crushed.

Buildings were either in shambles or reduced to rubble.

And the Shinobi. The _blood _of fellow Shinobi. All those ninjas. . . people. . . all that blood. . . lying on the ground like crimson puddles. . .

'_No wonder the villagers hated me,' _the young woman thought bitterly.

'_**I'm sorry, Kit,' **_Kurama murmured as he, too, watched the destruction his past self made. He saw these things through Naru's eyes, and he knew how she felt. The Demon was not a fool, he knew very well all the pain, mental, and physical abuse he put Naru through, henge or not. All because of that one night. All because of _Uchiha Madara._

"Come," the Shinigami said. "I need to show you the rest."

"The rest of what?" the blonde murmured, somewhat entranced.

"Your life."

The image around the 2 women blurred before refocusing. The scene was now much brighter and sunny but there was also a bit of commotion amongst the ninjas.

"_Get back here, you brat!" a Chuunin yelled as he and his comrades chased a blond boy with blue eyes and 3 whisker marks on each cheek._

"_You're just jealous because you don't have to guts to do what I did!" he yelled back and pointed at the Hokage monument._

_The first Hokage was somehow made to look grumpy and a bunch of squiggles made him look like he had bushy ears. Apparently, there was also a drawing of a pile of poop on his cheek. The second one was made to look like he was crying and had a unibrow as well as some rainbows (how Naruto got so much different colored paint, they will never know). Sandaime Hokage, however, had a blush and a nosebleed painted on his face and a thought bubble over his head showed an orange book with the words "Icha Icha Paradise" that Naruto saw him reading a while back. The Yondaime was the least violated as he was simply made much more life-like; his hair was painted yellow and his eyes were blue but he also had red swirls on his cheeks. Beside the fourth was an empty space that said, "This spot is reserved for Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!"_

Naru smiled at the memory. "Naruto," she said nostalgically. "Weird how much of a difference one syllable could make."

They watched as the blonde boy escaped the Chuunin. Eventually, a few Jounin and ANBU joined the chase, but ended up with the same result.

"I still wonder how you managed to escape all those ninja," the Shinigami started. "Even more, I can't believe you let your Academy sensei get the best of you."

Naru grinned as the younger boy version of her was caught by one Umino Iruka. Truthfully, she didn't know exactly _how _he did it either.

The image blurred again and the 2 women found themselves in the Hokage's office. Sarutobi Hiruzen was in his Hokage robes, sitting behind his desk, and smoking on his pipe, as usual. Naruto, in all his eye-searing orange glory, stood in front of the desk; a grin on his face as he rubbed the back of his head.

_Hiruzen sighed. "Naru, why -"_

"_Ne, ne, jiji," the young blonde cut in. "My name's Naruto, dattebayo! Not __**Naru**__!" he huffed._

_The Hokage sighed once more. "Fine. Naruto, why did you do that to the Hokage monument?"_

_Naruto scowled. "I already told Iruka-sensei, jiji! Someday, I'll be the greatest Hokage ever!"_

_Sarutobi smiled at the blonde's dedication. "Naru. . . to," he started. "It will be your Academy exam tomorrow, right?"_

"_Yeah. Why?"_

"_Do you plan on hiding any longer?"_

_The young boy's visage changed and his aura became serious. "I don't know jiji. It really has been easier as a guy. And I don't have to worry about that red stuff coming out of my. . . opening that much."_

"_Naruto, think about it, okay?"_

"_Hai."_

The scene blurred again until it showed that they were in a forest during night time. Naru and the red-head found themselves in a clearing where 3 other people were as well.

"_You are the nine-tailed fox!" a man with bluish-white hair standing on a branch yelled out to the other 2 people. He was wearing the standard Konoha uniform and had a demon wind shuriken on his back._

"Oh right. . ." Naru realized. "I forgot all about the Mizuki incident. . ."

"How could you forget this incident?" the Shinigami asked, surprised.

The blonde simply shrugged. "Compared to Madara, Pein, and everyone else, he was a nobody."

They followed Naruto as he tried to escape from both Mizuki and Iruka. The blonde boy hid behind a tree and listened to the aforementioned duo's conversation. When Mizuki tried to kill Iruka, Naruto jumped out and intercepted the large shuriken.

"_If you ever touch my sensei again," he threatened. "I'll kill you!"_

The image blurred.

"_Naruto," the Sandaime started. The old man currently had a dirty Naruto in his office. "Don't ever do something reckless like that again. You should know better than to steal from my private library."_

"_Hai, jiji. . ."_

"_Is something wrong?"_

"_What makes you say that?" Naruto asked and made an attempt for a grin but ended up looking even sadder._

"_You're awfully quiet. . . Naruto."_

_The blonde boy stayed silent._

"_Tell me what's bothering you, child."_

_Naruto huffed in annoyance. "I'm not a kid jiji!" but he sighed wearily afterwards. "Mizuki told me about my. . . tenant."_

_The Hokage tensed but his face remained calm. "Naruto, if this is about your tenant, you are nothing like him. You are simply the jail while it is the prisoner."_

"_I. . . know that. Iruka-sensei made that very clear to me. What's bothering me is that. . . is that why you henged me as a boy? Y-You said it was to keep me safe. . ."_

_Sarutobi sighed. Truly, this child has much more intelligence than others give him credit for. "Yes. That is the reason why I henged you into a boy."_

"_Oh."_

_Both were silent for a moment._

"_Jiji. . ." Naruto started. "If I was a girl. . . would I get hurt more often. . .?"_

"_I. . . do not know."_

_The little boy had a thoughtful look on his face. "I'm not strong enough. . ." he murmured._

_The Sandaime blinked. "Excuse me?"_

"_Girls are. . . much weaker, compared to boys. I've seen that much. They don't take their Kunoichi training seriously and end up being rabid fangirls. If I want to be strong, I shouldn't be held back in those stupid Kunoichi classes because I'm a girl. It's because I'm weak that everyone treats me like dirt. . . if I were stronger. . ."_

_Sarutobi was getting worried. It wouldn't do to make Naruto any angrier than he is now. "Naruto. . . you are not weak. . ."_

"_No. I am weak. That's why, if you would let me, I'd like to stay henged as a boy."_

_The Hokage blinked again. "What?"_

"_I need to get stronger so people would acknowledge me. If I have to be a boy to be the Hokage, fine. I'll do anything to reach my dream, dattebayo!" and he smiled like there was no tomorrow._

The scene changed again. Now, they were in a room Naru knew all too well. In fact, how could she forget her old classroom back when she was in the Academy?

"_Team 7," Iruka started. "Haruno Sakura," a girl with pink hair and the blonde boy sitting next to her looked up hopefully. "Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto stood up and yelled out happily while Sakura just slammed her forehead on the desk. "and Uchiha Sasuke," Iruka finished and Naruto slammed his head on the desk while Sakura let out a victory shout._

The scene changed again and the future disaster called Team 7 was on the Academy roof top. . . with their sensei.

_Okay," Hatake Kakashi started. "Why don't we start with getting to know each other better? Tell me your likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams for the future."_

"_Why don't you start first, sensei?" Sakura suggested._

Naru's eyes twitched at her (former) pink-haired teammate's idiocy. Seriously, how hard could it be to just _introduce _yourself?"

"_Me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I like some stuff and dislike other things. As for dreams. . . hmm, and I have lots of hobbies," and he gave them his patented eye-smile._

Everyone on Team 7, as well as the older Naru and the Shinigami, sweatdropped. The adult blonde forgot about her former sensei's introduction, so it was quite the surprise.

"_Okay, pinkie," the one-eyed scarecrow pointed at Sakura, who scowled. "You're up first."_

"_My name is Haruno Sakura and I like. . ." she looked at her dark-haired teammate before squealing. "My hobbies are. . ." she looked at the boy again and squealed, much to everyone else's ire, even the 2 female ghosts. "My dreams for the future. . ." once more, she looked at the boy and squealed. "And I hate Ino-pig and Naruto-baka!" she added angrily while Naruto face-faulted comically._

"_Sakura-chan," Naruto whined._

More images went by; Team 7's bell test and all their missions since then. Even the mission to Wave.

"_Finally!" Naruto exclaimed. "We're finally going on a __**real **__mission!" The blonde boy left with his teammates, sensei, and their client Tazuna._

It showed when Naruto froze up when the Demon brothers attacked. When they encountered Zabuza for the first time. When Naruto met Haku. . . right up until the battle at the bridge.

"_Don't you care!" Naruto shouted at Zabuza. "Haku gave up his __**life **__for you! He died being your tool! Doesn't that mean __**anything **__to you! Don't you feel a single -"_

"_Shut up, kid," Zabuza finally said something. "It hurts, okay? Shinobi are meant to be emotionless tools, but even we can't erase our emotions completely."_

The memories continued to go by.

Naru saw the beginning of the Chūnin exams, when Naruto had a few problems with the written test. The forest of Death, where Team 7 first encountered Orochimaru. The prelims, when Gaara broke Lee's bones.

Training with Jiraiya.

The final round of the Chūnin exams. Naruto beat Neji, rescued Sasuke and Sakura, and knocked some sense into Gaara. The red-haired Jinchuriki was taken away by his siblings.

The Sandaime Hokage's funeral. At the death of the old man, the seal he placed on Naru broke. Luckily, Jiraiya gave her the reinforced one and made it so that only she will be able to activate and deactivate it.

Naruto's mission to retrieve Senju Tsunade and persuade her into becoming Hokage. Learning the Rasengan, one of her father's prized techniques, and making a bet with baa-chan. Using the Rasengan on Kabuto and brining Tsunade back to Konoha.

Sasuke's defection and Naruto's personal mission to get him back. The battle at the Valley of the End.

Leaving with Jiraiya on a 3-year training trip so he could bring Sasuke back.

"Let's advance to 3 years, shall we?" the Shinigami commented as time went faster.

Naruto's homecoming. Kakashi's second bell test. Their mission to rescue the Kazekage, Gaara. Bringing him back to life with Granny Chiyo's technique.

Meeting Sai and Yamato-taichou. Seeing Sasuke again.

Meeting Sora, the pseudo Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi.

Learning about Chakra Nature Transformation. Making **Fūton: Rasenshuriken (Wind style: Rasenshuriken)**.

Shikamaru's plot on how to get revenge on Hidan and Kakuzu for killing Asuma. Rasenshuriken's debut.

Jiraiya's death. Naruto learning Sage mode as well as the Toads realizing she was a girl. Defeating Pein, and meeting his father.

The memories went on and on, right up until the 4th Great Shinobi World War.

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"It's actually a bit weird to see 'Naruto' do all those things. I'm actually a bit more used to seeing things in _my_ point-of-view," Naru commented.

The girls, after going through Naru's life, was now back at the steps at the other end of the hall.

"What was the point of all that?" Naru asked the Shinigami. The blonde was a tad depressed from seeing how she died. At least now she knew that Sasuke, Hinata, Shino, Team Gai, the Jounin sensei, the Sand siblings, and Choji hadn't participated.

No, they didn't _participate _in the act of killing her. However, that didn't mean they didn't _know _about it.

The Death God sighed. She already made her decision and went through the briefing; there was no point in going back. "What if I told you that there was a way for you to go. . . back?"

Naru blinked. "Go back. . . where?"

"Back to the world of the living."

The blonde gaped unceremoniously. "You. . . You can do that?"

The red-head snorted. "Oh _no_. I am not some all-powerful Shinigami that has control over Death, just a _normal _and _plain _human being," she said sarcastically.

The dead Kunoichi turned red in embarrassment. "Sorry."

"It's okay. I get that it may be a tad hard to believe."

"A tad? It's completely hard to believe! Why. . . Why are you giving me a choice?"

The Shinigami raised an eyebrow. "Don't you _want _to go back?"

Naru was silent for a moment. "I. . . I don't mind dying. I mean, I've lived my life and got what I wanted.

"What was it that you wanted?"

"I wanted to be. . ." the blonde took a deep breath. "I wanted to be acknowledged. I wanted the entire village to see me as me, not a demon. And certainly not as Kurama. I already got that; I'm the village Hero. There's no point in. . . going back.

"You do realize that those people acknowledged Uzumaki Naruto, right? They did not acknowledge _you_."

The Kunoichi stayed silent.

"You and I both know that Naruto and Naru are 2 _very _different people. I'm giving you a chance to live out a life as _yourself_. Using _your _face, _your _name, your _being_, without the pathetic mask you call _Naruto_."

". . . why?" Naru whispered. "Of all people to offer this chance to. . . why me? I don't want to go back to. . . to _them_."

The Shinigami hesitated a bit. "What if I told you that you don't have to go back to that time, exactly? What if I told you that you could live your life from the beginning?"

The blonde stayed quiet as she thought. Honestly it was. . . tempting. Sure, she would probably have to face Pein and Madara again and all the other bad guys but, with a bit of future knowledge, she could save more lives, right? Hang on. . .

"Do I. . . keep my memories? If you send me back?"

The red-head smiled and nodded.

"What do I have to do?"

"Not much but. . ."

"But what?"

"There _is _something you have to see."

The Shinigami turned around and walked to the nearest wall. Naru followed her companion and when they were beside each other, the Shinigami took her hand and pressed it on said wall.

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When the Kunoichi opened her eyes, she found herself in Training ground 7 with the. . . Konoha 12 and. . . Sai.

Well, Konoha 12 without Naruto and Sasuke.

"_Koharu-sama, Homura-sama," Neji said formally._

Naru turned around and saw the 2 elder advisors. Why they were there, she had sneaking suspicion.

"_I presume you know why you are here?" Homura started._

"_You have a mission for us, right?" Shikamaru said, lazy as ever._

"_Yes. We do."_

"Let's skip this," the Shinigami said coldly. "I doubt you'd want to hear the mission details of your death."

The image fast forwards a bit.

"_With all due respect, Homura-sama," Kiba growled out with Akamaru. "Naruto is our friend! Why would we -"_

_Koharu raised her hand. "Because, Inuzuka-san, if you don't, we will have to silence your families. Permanently. Do not forget that Danzo has left the village with his emotionless tools, we will not hesitate to use them against you."_

The scene blurred before refocusing just as fast.

"_You guys are on your own," Neji said. "I will have no part in this."_

"_But Neji," TenTen protested. "If you don't -"_

"_If I don't, what will happen?" the Hyuuga snapped back. "Hinata-sama and Hanabi-sama are my only family. Hinata-sama will not participate in this and I. . . I owe a debt to Naruto-san."_

"_I must agree with Neji-kun, TenTen," Lee started. "To do something like this is most unyouthful. And Hinata-chan has been crying for quite a while now because of this matter."_

It was true. The Hyuuga heiress had puffy red eyes and tears were coming down her face like a waterfall. The only difference made was that she was only hiccupping and whimpering slightly rather than full-out bawling.

"_If you guys aren't doing this, then neither am I," TenTen declared. Team Gai left soon after that._

"_I. . . I will not do something like this to. . . to N-Naruto-kun," Hinata started. Even if she was crying, her voice was firm. "N-No one deserves this. . . l-least of all, h-him. . ."_

_For some reason, Kiba grew angry. "When will you realize that he doesn't return your feelings? Why do you defend him when it's so damn obvious he doesn't feel the same was as you?"_

_Hinata was shocked, but she opened her mouth angrily. Before she could say anything, however, Shino cut in._

"_Kiba-san," the Aburame started. "I suggest that you do not provoke Hinata-san any further. However, I must insist that I, too, will not participate in this. Having this done to Naruto-san is illogical and I am sure that my family and I can take care of ourselves. By your leave," he bowed and walked away._

_Hinata gave Kiba a small glare before running after her teammate._

_Sakura, Sai, Kiba, and Team 10 were the only ones left._

"_Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered. "This is going to be a whole lot harder since half of us are gone. But I think we could work this out. . ."_

"_Shikamaru," Choji started, surprised. "You're still going through with this?"_

"_We've got no choice, Choji. As clan head, I need to make decisions that are in my family's best interest. If their safety is in danger. . . I really have no other option."_

"_You do," Choji said defiantly. "You __**do **__have a have a choice. My family wouldn't want Naruto-kun to die, and neither would I." After that statement, the Akimichi left._

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Naru felt herself being pulled out of the vision by the Shinigami.

"I was right," the blonde said. "Homura and Koharu _did _assign my death. The others knew about it but they didn't tell me."

"Not exactly," the Death God said. "Those 2 old coots had a spy to tell them the ones who refused the. . . _assignment_. They made the Akimichi go on a mission together with Rock Lee and Aburame Shino. Apparently, those 2 thought that they would be able to finish their mission before you could come back to the village and warn you. Hyuuga Neji was still recuperating from the war but they managed to kidnap Hyuuga Hanabi. They forced both him and Hinata to behave lest they wanted her to be killed. TenTen wasn't on such good terms with you, so she was silent."

The Kunoichi was quiet. "I thought of them as my family," she started. "Guess they didn't feel the same way, huh?"

"You must understand. If they care for, or even loved, you more than a friend, they wouldn't have done that."

"How is being loved related to them killing me?"

"Love and Death have much more in common than you think."

"Yeah? In what way?"

"Would you die for someone you didn't love?"

Naru was silent.

"Exactly. If they had loved you more, the thought of killing you would never have even crossed their minds."

"So? What do you want me to do about it?"

The Shinigami smirked. "At least make _them _fall in love with _you_."

Naru's mouth opened as she tried to respond but, instead, gaped like a fish.

The red-head sighed. "Do not misunderstand me. You and I both know that humans do extremely stupid things out of love. Ninjas even more so because they pathetically throw their lives away for another."

"Hey!"

"What? It's true!"

The blonde huffed in annoyance. "Those guys? They'll never see me as anything more than a friend. . ."

The Shinigami was silent but she pulled Naru back to the same stone steps. They climbed up the steps until they were in front of the diamond imbedded on the floor.

"Do you or do you not want to go back?"

"Of course I do," Naru said immediately, but she looked at the ground as if she was ashamed. "But is it alright for me to want to go back just so I can have revenge. . .?"

"Naru, it's perfectly natural to wish for revenge."

"Yeah, I want to, but. . . I don't know how. . ."

The red-head observed the young woman for a bit, and smiled. "I'll tell you something," she said and leaned in and whispered in Naru's ear. The Kunoichi's eyes grew wide with surprise.

Naru gave off a hollow laugh. "Really? It's that easy?"

"Really," the Shinigami nodded. "Now then, what time in your past do you want to go back to? I must warn you, though, that I can only send you as far as a few months after the Uchiha Massacre. . ."

"How about. . . six months before I graduated from the Academy?"

The red-head nodded and crouched down. She pressed her hand on the diamond at the part that said "Rebirth (再生)" and it glowed. The date appeared: March 1.

"Simply step on the triangle that says 'Rebirth (再生)' and you'll be on your way," the Shinigami said. "Now, I must tell you that you may not prevent the Sandaime's death."

"Why?" Naru said, surprised. She would've, of course, prevented Sarutobi's death. . .

"Because he was truly supposed to die that day. As for everyone else though. . . well, it will be _your _decision," she winked at her.

The blonde stayed quiet and stepped on the triangle. When she did, light began to flow up her legs, making them disappear.

"Wow. . ." the Kunoichi whispered. "Ano. . . Shinigami-sama?"

"Yes?"

"I'm just curious. . . how come you know so much about love?" The light was already at her waist.

"Love and Death have a lot in common," she repeated. "That is also why I have 2 forms."

"What do you mean?" The light was already at her chest.

"My other form means Death. This form I am in. . . means love," and the Shinigami kissed Naru's forehead. "Goodbye, young Naru. Give them a bit of hell from me, will ya?"

The light enveloped Naru's face, and she was gone.

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When Naru woke up, it was a bright and sunny day in her old and dirty apartment.

Back inside her henged 11-year-old body.

* * *

_**AN: Sorry it was so long. I had a lot of ideas. Please Rate and Review, so you can tell me what you think. If you think it's good, tell me. If you think its shit, tell me anyways. I don't care. It might even help me improve the story's quality.**_

_**-Katana**_


	2. Chapter 1: Improvements in Life

_**Konoha's Dark Princess**_

_**AN: Thank you to those people who favorite and/or followed this story! I sincerely hope that I don't disappoint you guys. As Naruto would say, "You are my precious people!" In this case, though, it's supporters.**_

_**Notice: Naru is always in a Henge unless I say otherwise. When she's around people who don't know about the Henge, the P.O.V. will say "he". When her identity is revealed to everyone, she will permanently be called a "she".**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. There, happy?**_

* * *

_**Chapter 1: Improvements in Life**_

_**(Normal P.O.V.)**_

A blonde boy opened his eyes and looked around. There was a small smile on his lips as he took everything in.

"_It actually worked, ne? Kurama. . .'_

'_**Yeah, Kit. We're back.'**_

Naru got up from her bed and looked at her old apartment. It was exactly the same messy place she'd had to live in ever since the orphanage kicked her out. The blonde looked at the old squeaky floors, the peeling paint, the cracks on the walls, beat-up furniture, the incredibly messy room with all her clothes strewn everywhere. . .

Yes, it was exactly as she remembered it.

Naru looked at her mirror and saw that she was back in her henged 11-year-old body. She sighed and looked at her calendar. It was March 1, a Saturday. The girl-henged-boy looked at the clock on her bedside table – 8:25 a.m. She should probably clean her room. The now Kunoichi-to-be wouldn't be able work well if her home was such a mess. She started her task immediately.

As Naru started picking up her underwear and boxers, she wondered if she could still do **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)**. The blonde remembered the hand seals so, why not?

Crossing 2 fingers of either hand with one another, she gathered her chakra.

A poof of smoke later, Naru found herself facing a dead and sickly looking clone. The young girl frowned, was she _that _much out of practice in this body?

She suspected that her 11-year-old body might not be able to handle all the knowledge of her 21-year-old mind. That was partly the reason that she chose to be sent back six months before her graduation at the Academy. It was because she wanted to condition her body some more, practice all her Justus, and. . . ahem, learn how to be a Kunoichi.

Yeah, Naru wasn't planning on hiding any longer. The problem was that she didn't know how to be a proper Kunoichi and in no way whatsoever was she going to attend those stupid flower arrangement classes they call _ninja training_. Another problem was who her teacher was going to be. . .

'_No, don't think about that right now,' _the blonde told herself. _'I'll handle that problem and the others later.'_

The other reason for needing six months was that she needed to make sure her "Naruto" mask was still, and could still, work properly. What better way than to do it in front of the people who caused her death in the future? She would also need to be careful about where she trains. . . and the people who know "Naruto" well will probably become suspicious if he's not the happy dobe he's always been. The Sandaime won't be that much of a problem. . . he always wanted her to drop the henge but he didn't know about the mask.

Now, what should she do about the dead clone. . .?

Kurama chuckled in her mindscape. _**'It took you HOURS to get it right the first time. Could now make any difference?'**_

The Kyuubi Jinchuriki frowned some more. After 5 more tries, she was finally able to produce 7 clones.

'_Ha!' _Naru yelled victoriously in her head. _'Take __**that**__, furball!'_

"Hey boss!" the blonde clone in front said. All of Naru's clones were henged as well. "Whaddya want us to do?"

The original smiled. She couldn't help it, it was just so nostalgic to see her younger clones. "I want 5 of you to go out and gather some leftover paint and brushes, preferably the color blue. I also want you guys to gather as much carpentry tools as you can find, maybe even a tool box or mechanical kit. I don't care if you steal anything, just as long as no one sees you or finds you. Oh, and while you're at it, could one of you buy some groceries? Ramen included."

"But boss," one of them protested. "We don't have any money!"

"Then steal," Naru said dismissively. "That's what I've always had to do. Oh, and make sure all of you use a different henge. We can't let anyone get suspicious."

Five of the seven clones nodded before making their hand seals to alter the **Henge Seal**. Sarutobi Hiruzen taught her this trick so she could get inside the market places and buy something from the merchants without the fear of being kicked out. Normal henges can be easily seen by seasoned ninjas, but this one is so much better because the Jutsu only feeds on a little bit of her chakra. So small, in fact, that it's not noticeable unless you _really _concentrate.

The smoke made by the Henge dispersed, leaving 4 male children and a young woman in its wake. The boys looked young enough to be seen as innocent kids and younger than 8 years old. All of them had dark hair (in contrast with Naruto's usually vibrant blonde hair) and had different eye colors. Two of them had brown eyes and the other two had blue eyes. Not as bright as Naru's, but they were still blue. Their whisker marks were gone and each of them had different facial structure. While the young woman had soft skin and feminine features, the boys had childish grins and mussed up hair styles. Their heights changed as well, ranging from midget to giant; it was the same with their body structures. They all wore civilian clothing and one boy wore shorts, another pants, and the others wore formal kimonos (male and female).

The clone-in-a-female-Henge made itself look old enough to be a maid or a daughter running an errand for her mother. She was the one being sent to get groceries. Her whisker marks were also gone and her black hair was tied in a bun. She had blue eyes and was wearing a black Kimono with a gray obi tied around her waist as well as black sandals. She didn't look like a ninja, just a normal and nondescript everyday civilian.

Naru nodded in approval of the Henges and the 5 clones made their way out of the apartment building through the window.

"What about us, boss?" 2 of the remaining 3 clones asked.

The original pointed at the clone to her left. "Can you go and try to fix the bathroom? By fix, I mean I want you to clean it and do your best to make sure the plumbing and everything else works. I'll double-check it later when you're done."

The clones nodded and they walked inside the bathroom.

"Why do you need all that stuff, boss?" the remaining clone asked curiously. It was referring to the paint and tools Naru sent the other 5 clones to gather.

"If I'm gonna stay here for the rest of my life, I might as well make it liveable."

"What about the Landlady?"

The Jinchuriki's eyes grew sad. She remembered how kind the owner was to be able to fix her this place in the first place, but now she was ailing. She can't protect the old apartment building anymore. "What about her?"

"Won't she get in trouble for letting you refurnish your apartment?"

Naru knew what her clone was talking about. If the villagers found out someone was "kind" to the demon brat, they would show no mercy to him or her, ninja or not. "She won't get in trouble. . . because no one would ever find out."

"Huh?" the clone looked surprised.

"You're my clone, right?" The clone nodded. "And you know Fūinjutsu, right?" The clone nodded again. "Good. I want you to make a few seal barriers to cover up the windows and doors as well as the rooftop. Mix in the formula for Gravity seals together with the Seal Barrier formula and add in a Chakra Repressor seal. That should hold them here long enough for me to get back home and find out who exactly tried to thrash my place. If they ever tried to ambush, of course," the blonde added, sarcastically doubtful. Of course they would try to break her home down, she was the Demon brat after all.

"You got it boss!" and the clone jumped out the window to get some ink, brushes, paper. . . maybe even a whole Fūinjutsu kit.

Naru sighed and she started picking up her clothes from the floor again. She didn't feel up to making anymore clones, relying on one technique too much wasn't good for any ninja. She learned that the hard way. After picking up everything and separating them between dirty and clean, she got the dirty pile and gave it to the clone in charge of cleaning the bathroom. She assigned it to wash the clothes before she started to fold the clean pile. After folding, she placed them in their proper drawers and inside her closet.

'_I should probably get some more feminine clothes,' _the blonde contemplated. "Well, that's done. . ." she muttered to herself and took out a broom and dust-pan from her supplies closet.

When Naru was finished sweeping the apartment (that had gathered _quite _the dust) the clone woman who was sent to get the groceries cam back.

"Hey boss!" the clone said cheerfully as he changed his Henge to that of Naruto. "Anything else you want me to do?"

"Yeah. Do you mind if you could cook breakfast? I cleaned the kitchen and washed the dishes when I started sweeping the kitchen floor. It's good and clean enough to use."

"Sure thing, boss!" the clone said and it grabbed the grocery bags and brought them to the kitchen. Naru was watching the clone as it arranged everything inside the cabinets. She was surprised as she now noticed how many bags there really were.

"Hey, how're you able to get that much stuff?"

"Huh?" the clone asked as it turned around. "Oh, you mean these things? Well. . . let's just say I bumped into an old sensei."

The original's mouth twitched a bit at that. "Academy or Genin?"

The clone grinned. "Genin."

**Elsewhere. . .**

"Achooo!" a man with white gravity-defying hair sneezed and he looked around before going back to reading the orange book he had in his hand.

"Someone's probably thinking about me. . ." he muttered but smiled underneath his mask. "Hope it was that pretty civilian I saw who was on her way to the market. . ."

Hatake Kakashi put his hand in his pocket, never noticing that his wallet was gone.

**Back with Naru. . .**

Naru smiled as she threw away the dirt she collected inside the dust-pan. The blonde then got a clean rag and wet it before wiping the floor.

It wasn't like she had anything against Kakashi. A bit of resentment, maybe, for him taking the Uchiha's side again, but she had more respect for him than hatred. The council probably put him up to it again, just like the first time. She never respected him as a teacher, true, but she respects him as a ninja and fellow leaf comrade. And he was loyal to Jiji, Otou-san, and Obaa-chan. That's a definite plus in her book.

That didn't mean she wasn't going to mess with him for being a shitty sensei to her, of course.

The young girl wiped the floors of her apartment until it was clean from grime and mud. As she was walking around, testing the floors, she noticed that there was a hollow spot in the middle of her bedroom.

Now, normally, hollow spots didn't mean anything to her but, for Shinobi, it usually meant there was something hidden inside. Hollow spots usually meant an opening or a trap door because it was, well, hollowed out. That's how ninjas detect trap doors; if they knock on a piece of wood that echoes instead of sound waves bouncing back and slightly vibrating, it's possible something is (or was) inside.

The Jinchuriki, observing the hollow spot, noticed that there was a slight fissure in the wood that formed a medium-sized square. It wasn't noticeable from afar, but you could see the outline of the square upon closer inspection. Naru attempted to pry the square open, but soon realized it was stuck. The blonde frowned. If there was _anything _hidden inside _her _apartment, _she _had the right to know.

Grabbing a kunai, Naru started to cut along the lines of the fissure. When the square outline was fully visible by the cuts she made, the blonde used the kunai to stab one side of the square and lifted it open with said weapon. Dust and mini debris that had gathered for years fell as the old door was opened forcibly. The young girl coughed a bit as the dust entered her nostrils and throat all the while obscuring her vision. When it cleared, she only saw a small hollow place where a little box sat.

Blinking in confusion, Naru picked up the box and was surprised to see it in a somewhat good condition. It was a bit battered, but that just showed how old it really was. Probably only as old as Naru was right now, though. The box looked like something a Daimyo or a Kage would use to put scrolls inside. It was covered with dust but the blonde could see that the lid was yellow and the rest of it was green. She couldn't see much of anything else because grime covered it.

"Hey!" the Jinchuriki called out to one of her clones passing by her bedroom. "Can you get me a wet rag?"

A few minutes later, the clone came back and handed her the rag.

"Here ya go, boss," it said before walking out and resuming its duties.

Naru started to clean the box until she could get most of the grime off. Observing it once more, she could admit to herself that it was quite pretty.

The lid was a shiny golden yellow like her hair but her hair was still brighter. The lid had red corners that rose up like the roof of a shrine. The rest of the box was a forest green color and small tree-like carvings lined the box at the bottom. All in all, it was quite simple, but pretty.

Though, what confused the blonde was the fact that, at the place where the box should have a latch, there was a red Uzumaki spiral.

What confused her even more was when she noticed that there were miniature seals around the spiral.

Looking over at the box again, Naru noticed that there were words inscribed on the lid. Grabbing her rag, she scrubbed the lid furiously until all the dirt came off.

On the lid, carved in words in a fancy script, was -

_Uzumaki-Namikaze Akemi Naru_

- her name.

Feeling as if she had suddenly run a marathon, the blonde observed the seals around the spiral once more. Sure enough, it was a blood seal.

Excitement bubbling up inside her, the young girl bit her thumb and, with one stroke, spread her blood across the spiral. A minor outburst of chakra later, the spiral-latch opened. Eagerly looking inside, the Jinchuriki saw 5 scrolls. Frowning a bit, Naru picked one up and read its label.

_Namikaze Minato_

Her eyes widened slightly and she proceeded to open it.

'_**You sure that's a good idea, Kit?' **_Kurama asked her.

Naru hesitated. _'What are you going on about now, Kurama?'_

'_**I'm just saying, this could be a good opportunity to let the old man admit that you're a Namikaze.'**_

The blonde thought about it. It would probably be a good excuse and it might save her the time of explaining how come she's better than she lets on. An irony, really. The man who condemned her to the life of a Jinchuriki was the Hokage she always admired and her father. Naru truly was "Daddy's little girl".

'_You have a point, Kurama,' _the young girl conceded and she stood up, grabbing and taking the box with her. She put the scroll with her father's name back inside and changed her pajamas to the orange jumpsuit Naruto usually wears.

Naru looked at her jumpsuit sadly. She'll miss it because of all her memories with it but, now that she decided that she was going to be a Kunoichi, she needed new clothes to fit the job description.

When the blonde walked out of her bedroom, the box under her armpit, she noticed that the rest of her clones came back. All of them had paint, brushes, hammers, and a bunch of other different tools and knick-knacks with them.

"What do you want us to do now, boss? A clone asked as it held up a bucket of paint.

Naru made a sweeping motion towards the apartment. "Fix everything. Repaint the walls, fix the cabinets, doors, and plumbing. Basically, all you need to do is make sure everything is neat, clean, and able to be used."

"You got it boss!" all the clones said.

The original visited the kitchen where one of her clones was cooking. "Hey, anything I can eat?"

"Sorry, boss. So far, I only got to make some butter toast."

"Nah, that's good. I'm hungry for anything, anyways." She then grabbed 2 pieces of bread from a plate on the table before making her way out of the apartment.

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_**(Naru's P.O.V.)**_

'_Huh,' _I thought as I walked down the street towards the Hokage tower. _'The glares seem a whole lot worse than from what I remember.'_

The moment I was in the villager's sight, the looks on their faces seem to darken. Then, predictably, they began glaring and whispering as well as not-so-discreetly pointing at me. To make it seem as though nothing was wrong, I had my head held up high with my usual bright smile on my face. My smile was, of course, slightly strained, but not enough for anyone to notice. Not like they cared, of course.

'_**You have a mind of an adolescent, Kit,' **_Kurama explained in my head. _**'It's only natural you are more perceptive and observant than when you were 12.'**_

'_True enough,' _I agreed. I could actually make out the ninja walking amongst the civilians. They were so nondescript; they didn't seem to be even there. And if I listened closely, I could hear the ANBU ninjas' soft footfalls as they jumped from rooftop to rooftop. And if I sniffed the air. . .

My mouth watered. It was the smell of the most heavenly and delicious food of all. '_Ramen. . .'_

'_**Baka. Get to that Hokage of your already. You can eat out later.'**_

'_But it's ramen. . .'_

'_**You could get some later. Right now, our priorities come fir -'**_

A huge racket made by someone crashing through the side of a dango shop interrupted our mental conversation.

"You better think twice next time you try and grope my ass, bastard!" a woman shouted as she walked out of the dango shop through the hole made by said "bastard". From the looks of it, she punched the guy hard enough to make him break through a concrete wall. Obviously a Kunoichi. The guy she punched, though. . .

Well, he looks like he's unconscious and was resting all the way across the other side of the dango shop. A few cracks were on the wall of the building he hit after going through the shop's wall.

My mouth opened slightly but I was grinning on the inside. I never really got to enjoy being a girl and let me just say, I am damn proud of being one! I was also shocked that a ninja would break public property without any regrets like that.

I decided to observe this amazing Kunoichi. Let's see. . . a short skirt, revealing mesh shirt, brown trench coat, purple hair. . .

My mouth opened again, albeit it was less open than last time. It was Mitarashi Anko, snake mistress of Konoha and a respected Jounin. I couldn't believe that someone like her would –

Oh wait. I could.

"Hey!" a slightly burly man, who actually managed to look like the owner of the dango shop, ran after Anko. "You gotta pay for that, you know?"

I was still staring when Anko's entire visage changed. She stood up straighter and and it seemed that she was subtly pushing out her chest more. It was so subtle, that I kind of missed it entirely. She also seemed more. . . feminine. . . somehow. . .

I can't explain what exactly changed it was just that she seemed so. . . different!

"Oh?" Anko said in a. . . (I think Ero-sennin mentioned it once). . . sensual voice. . .? She then started tracing the man's jaw slowly while he was still frozen in definite shock. "Well, maybe there are other ways I could pay for the damage. . ." Anko trailed off suggestively.

I was now staring in disbelief. She just suddenly flirted with the owner! Flirted I say!

'_Hey Kurama,' _I thought. _'Is this what they call the infamous Kunoichi art of Seduction?'_

'_**Yes, Kit. I believe it is.'**_

I observed the pair a little longer. The owner was now flirting back with Anko shamelessly and she also had her huge boobs pressed against his chest. Are men really that needy? She already got him wrapped around her little finger. . .

I continued my walk to Hokage tower and made sure that the box was still secure under my arm.

'_Shinigami-sama was right. Men are sorta predictable. They practically do anything for a girl with a pretty face, huge boobs, and a vagina.'_

'_**I'm curious. What did Shinigami-sama tell you before we got here?'**_

'_You mean you didn't hear her?'_

'_**Shinigami-sama put me in a hibernation state. That realm you were in is only for mortals and I could only get little bits of what was happening through your mind.'**_

'_Oh.'_

'_**So, what did she say?'**_

'_A way to get my revenge. Who could've known that a broken heart could do so much damage to a person? Wait, don't answer that. My own friends betrayed me so my heart is pretty much broken.'_

'_**Is that all?'**_

'_Her exact words were, "Boys, particularly your friends, will always fall in love with the person who treats them differently and understands them the most. Who better than you, the person who has comforted them in their darkest hours, to fall in love with?" Well, something like that, anyways.'_

'_**You really understand what she meant by that?'**_

'_I have an idea. I'll have to test out my theory though.' _My thoughts then went to the event I saw earlier. _'Mitarashi Anko, one of the best Kunoichi Konoha has. Adept in Torture and Interrogation as well as Seduction, from what I saw. She's probably pretty good as a Shinobi, ain't a Special Jounin for nothing. . .'_

I made my decision and chalked it up to the matter I had to discuss with jiji. After that, I noticed that my feet had automatically taken me to the tower. I suddenly remembered my hunger for ramen but. . . eh. I was already here, might as well get it over with.

When I walked inside, the receptionist immediately recognized me and glared. I smiled at her like I didn't notice before making my way to the staircase that leads to the second floor, where the Hokage's office was located.

"Hey. . . kid," the receptionist started to say through clenched teeth. The pause she made gave me enough reason to think that she was going to say something much worse than "kid".

"You do know you aren't supposed to be playing inside this tower, right?" she continued.

I gave her a sheepish grin to mask my anger at her being a "demon hater" and rubbed the back of my head in a fake embarrassed way. "I ain't playing around, lady. I just wanted to visit Hokage-jiji."

The woman bristled in anger. "You will not speak of Hokage-sama like that you. . . you. . . demon brat!"

"Yikes!" I yelped before dashing up the staircase, clutching the box I was sure that was from my parents tighter. I planned to escape that crazy bitch by barging inside the Hokage's office.

When I opened the door to jiji's office, I was relieved to see that he was there, alive and well. I could've stared and maybe even cried but there was a fucker who wanted me dead so I immediately ran and hid under jiji's desk. I vaguely registered the fact of him looking at me in surprise but I just sat down under desk, placed the box on the floor, and hugged my knees to my chest.

I heard the receptionist come running inside the room before jiji could say anything. "Hokage-sama," she said and panted a bit. I snorted quietly. It was clear she was a civilian if an Academy student could run faster than her and still be able to breathe normally. "There was a. . . a child that entered the tower without adult supervision and demanded to see you. I told him that he couldn't and he got mad and ran. Have you by any chance seen him?"

Jiji was quiet for a moment and I could see his eyes flicker over to where I was hiding. "No, Aika-chan, I have not. Do you, perhaps, get the name of this boy?"

Tears were running down my face. I was just so _sad _and _happy _to hear jiji's voice. Happy because I never thought I would hear it again and sad because I knew when and how he was going to die and. . . and I couldn't do a thing about it. I knew jiji saw my tears because he became slightly more stern at the receptionist. He probably thought that the she treated me made me cry. I didn't care that much, actually. It was much better for him to think that way. Much more beneficial for me, at least.

"Well, Yoshinaga-san?"

"S-Sir?"

"Do you or do you not know who the boy was?"

"I-It was the de – I mean, the Uzumaki boy, Hokage-sama."

I chuckled darkly in my head. Of course, they were so predictable. It was always the demon or demon brat. If they were _trying _to be nice to me, they'd call me the Uzumaki boy. It was always my last name, the name of the family I never I had. As if they were mocking me, reminding me every time they say it that I was an orphan, that I was alone, that I was unloved. . .

No matter how many times I shouted it out, they never called me by my first name. Never _Naruto_.

"I see," jiji said finally, breaking me from my thoughts. "The next time Naruto-kun comes here, and I am not occupied in a meeting, send him in please."

"B-But, Hokage-sama. . ."

"If that is all, Yoshinaga-san, please, leave me and let me do my work in peace."

"H-Hai. . ." and I heard the door closing.

After a few minutes, jiji started talking. "Naru -"

"Why do they hate me?" I mumbled but it was clear. I knew I had to be careful and seem like an ignorant child. One rookie mistake could spell disaster for the future.

Jiji sighed. "Naru, they don't hate you -"

"Yeah? Explain all the glares then." I got up from under the desk and sat down in front of jiji's table. I crossed my arms on the table and rested my chin on them. My tears had already dried somewhat but I could tell jiji was slightly disturbed by them and my current expression. I made sure that a hint of all the sadness that I bottled up inside was showing, and that was all I needed.

"All the other orphans. . . they're not treated the same way I am. I've been seeing all those glares since as far as I could remember, so it can't be because of my pranks. The villagers look at them with pity but at me. . ." my bangs covered my eyes. "Why are they so _angry_ at me? Was it because my parents were evil? Is it because I'm. . . I'm a demon?"

"No!" jiji shouted out in anger and I raised my face. There was shock on my face, obviously, and I made an involuntary shiver as the killing intent spiked. His face softened and the K.I. disappeared as suddenly as it had come. He ruffled my hair as tears streamed down my face. I seriously missed my grandpa. . .

"You're parents were wonderful Shinobi, Naru. And you are _not _a demon. Don't believe anyone who says otherwise."

"Then why?" I asked. I knew jiji thought I was crying because of the villagers' hatred but I didn't correct him on that. It was a nice effect, honestly. "Jiji, I. . . I know why they hate me. I just want to know why _you _never told me."

Jiji's hand, which was still on my head, froze. "You know. . .?"

I looked him in the eye. "Why did the Yondaime seal the fox inside me?"

Jiji sat there, frozen. If he wasn't Hokage, he'd probably die of heart attack from the shock I gave him. As it was, he raised his hand and made some sort of signal since the faint sounds of **Shunshin **were heard all across the room. I thought up a lot of expletives in my head, cursing in a lot of ways and asking myself how I could have forgotten the fucking ANBU.

Jiji made a hand seal and the room's Privacy Seals activated. "Naru, would you please release the **Henge **you are in?"

Surprise showed on my face but I nodded. Making the required hand seals, the** Henge** deactivated. I remembered how I looked like when I was younger, so I really didn't need to use a mirror. My hair was simply a shoulder-length blonde color since the natural red streaks wouldn't come unless I used Kurama more often. They streaks came from my mother, but my dad's genes dominated them. Kurama's chakra sort of made them come out a bit, I guess. Weird, but cool. My face was still round, but had a more feminine look to it. My nose was a little flatter, my lips were smoother, and I had thinner whisker marks on my cheeks. I was still wearing my orange jumpsuit though. I put my arms down after deactivating the jutsu, and put all my attention back to jiji.

He looked happy for some reason, but I paid little attention to that fact.

"Now Naru," he started seriously. "How do you know about Kyuubi being sealed inside of you?"

"It told me."

He was silent for a moment. "When?"

I frowned but counted the months in my head quickly. "About 5 months ago. It was. . . It was on my birthday."

"Oh. . . October 10th."

"Yeah. I can't believe I never noticed it. They called me a demon, after all."

"Why did you not tell me after you came in contact with the Kyuubi?" jiji continued, ignoring my comment for the moment.

I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. "It didn't seem important at that time and. . . and I wanted to see if you would tell me."

Jiji sighed tiredly and leaned back in his chair. "Naru, you have to understand. I thought that if you knew, you would resent the village and person who sealed it inside you."

I blinked, and then snorted. "Well that didn't work. I resent the villagers because I can't seem to understand why they hate me. Now that I do. . . well, I guess I can understand it a little. It still doesn't mean they should do all those things, not a real excuse at all you know. As for the Yondaime. . . jiji, I can't resent him. He's my hero. I just want to know _why _he chose _me_."

Jiji seemed to have an internal debate before giving out a weary and defeated sigh. "I suppose. . . I suppose you are ready. I must beg that you do not flaunt this fact at all. Or even _ever_."

He then began explaining how my dad sacrificed himself to save the village and that he chose me because I was his daughter.

I made an extremely slow blink when he said that. "The Yondaime is my dad?"

At his nod, I whooped, squealed, and cheered that the best Hokage ever was my dad. It was a pain, but I had to keep up appearances. When jiji got me to "calm down", he was smiling.

"Why did you wait 4 months to tell me this?"

"I was waiting to see if you would tell me yourself. As for the Kyuubi. . . well, he wasn't exactly _mean _to me." _'Understatement of the century. . . I almost pissed the first time Kurama talked and shit. . .'_

'_**I am ever so glad you remember.'**_

'_Stop smirking you damn fox. . .'_

I snapped out of my trance in time to see jiji blink. "Not exactly 'mean'? He destroyed the entire village! He killed thousands of people! He -"

"It wasn't his fault!" I immediately stated. "He was being controlled by some freaky guy with a mask!"

Jiji was silent, his mouth slightly opened in surprise. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because something as powerful as the Kyuubi doesn't just randomly waltz in inside a village and decide 'I wanna smash everything in my way!', 'ttebayo! He _had_ to have been controlled or something."

Jiji looked to be thinking over my half-assed assessment before sighing. Old man seems to have a lot of breath today. "I will postpone judgment until further notice. How often do you talk to the Kyuubi?"

"Not often. The last time he talked to me was about a month ago."

"About?"

". . ." I couldn't think of anything.

"Well?"

". . . I needed help looking for my homework. . .?"

Jiji started chuckling before it turned to a full-blown laugh. When he was done, he shook his head ruefully. "Only you, Naru, would ever ask the strongest of all the Biju where your homework was misplaced."

I smiled back in slight relief, glad he had accepted my excuse.

"How were you able to contact him in the first place?" jiji asked curiously.

I shrugged. "I can't hear him all the time. We only talk when we want to."

He nodded thoughtfully and seemed to accept my answer. At that, I suddenly remembered something.

I walked over to the desk and grabbed the box I got from my parents. I dropped it there cause of the crazy receptionist who was after my hide. I placed the box on top of jiji's desk and he looked at it curiously.

"I found it in my apartment," I explained. "It had my name on it but I didn't think that I was a Namikaze. . . so, I decided to bring it to you."

Jiji was smiling as he observed the box. "Naru, this is the box your parents made for you when they found out your mother was pregnant. I believe your father wrote your name on the box before facing the Kyuubi and hid it inside your apartment."

"How did he know that was going to be my apartment?" I asked, puzzled.

"Your father was an orphan like you. Before you inhabited that place, it was his. I thought he would have been happy to see his daughter living inside the place he once did, even if she is an orphan like he was."

I rubbed my eye a bit, removing the tears that were starting to gather. I didn't know that. It made the value of my apartment significantly higher and I was glad I had clones fixing it right up. "So. . . how do you open the box?"

Jiji then told me to just spread my blood across the spiral. Of course, I knew that, but appearances are quite necessary. He also told me about my mother while I observed the box in awe, almost afraid to open what my parents left for me, despite me seeing what's inside already.

When he was done talking, new tears were going down my face and a big smile was on my lips. I especially liked that story when my mom kicked Ero-sennin in the balls for peeking in the Hot Springs while she was in there, and then Ero-sennin got all black, blue, and red after my dad was done with him when he found out. Of course, jiji referred to Ero-sennin as "Minato's sensei", but I knew who he was.

I finally opened the box and took out the scroll from my dad.

* * *

"_Dear Naru,_

_If you are reading this, you probably found the box and know that I sealed the Kyuubi inside of you. I am sorry for making that decision back then, but however you feel towards me now, I hope you know that I love you no matter what and any hatred you may have towards me, I deserve it all. I do not have enough time, and I am so sorry once more that I am leaving such a short letter for you. Inside the box are 4 other scrolls. One of the scrolls contains information about all my jutsus, techniques, money, weapons, and Hiraishin kunais. The money is not much, but it may help you for a few months. The rest of mine and your mother's money may be used by Konoha's council -"_

* * *

Naru's eyebrows furrowed slightly but she couldn't let jiji see her scowl. Especially since she'll have to explain about her being mad at the council.

* * *

"_- so please understand. One of the scrolls is your mother's last letter to you and another one contains all the things she left for you. The last scroll. . . is a surprise. Your mother and I hope you'll enjoy it._

_The day you will forgive me for cursing your life may not be today, but I hope that day will come soon. No matter what, you will always be my one and only daughter, my legacy to the world I left behind. And no matter what you decide to do with your life, your mother and I will always love. We will always be watching over you, no matter what others say._

_Your father,  
Namikaze Minato."_

* * *

I wiped away my tears and promised to myself to learn all my father's techniques. After all, Uzumaki Naru never breaks her promises.

I opened my mom's letter next. It was labeled as _Uzumaki-Namikaze Kushina._

* * *

"_To my dearest Naru-chan,_

_Hi there, baby girl. Sorry for the shaky handwriting, it's really hard to do anything after labor. Your father told me he decided to call you Naru and, I must say, it's a much better name for you that Naruto. I know it was meant to mean "Maelstrom" but people keep thinking of "fishcake" you know? I insisted he also called you Akemi, because to me, you're the brightest and most beautiful baby I have ever seen._

_Your father probably explained that he left something. I did too, so don't worry. In another one of these scrolls contains all my jutsus, techniques, money, and a Katana. I swear, your father is truly amazing with Fūinjutsu, but when it comes to Kenjutsu he is HOPELESS. There is also something inside the scroll that explains my Kenjutsu style, so don't worry. Oh, and take good care of my Katana. I got it from Kiri, you know. It was supposedly a defect from one of the attempts at making the Seven Ninja swords but, honestly, it works just fine. Also, I got some Kunoichi outfits for when you're a Genin or when you're older, depends on when you find the box. I hope you like it, it's inside the scroll too._

_And baby girl, remember, get a boyfriend will you? I don't care what your father says, be happy and get a guy. I know I was._

_We love you Naru. Never, ever, doubt that._

_Your loving mother,  
Uzumaki-Namikaze Kushina."_

* * *

I wiped at my eyes again and furiously pushed down my rising blush. Mom wanted to get me a boyfriend? Well that's definitely gonna be a helluva hard. But, then again, I got some cool stuff from her too!

I was happy she didn't mention about my becoming a Jinchuriki. A normal, girly, conversation with your mom was something I always wanted to feel. Even if she wasn't here, I still felt the feeling she placed in her words.

"I suppose you are happy, Naru-chan?"

"You know it, jiji."

"Can it be safe for me to assume you will stop Henging yourself as a boy, now?"

"Jiji, I. . . I will but. . . but not just yet."

"Why not?"

"Well, I was hoping to stay in my **Henge **until I graduate from the Academy."

"Why would you wish for that?"

"Please jiji," I begged and used the dreaded puppy-eyes-no-jutsu. "I have my reasons, okay?"

". . . Fine," jiji breathed out in resignation. "but Naru, you need to learn how to be a Kunoichi as well."

"I've been thinking about that for a few months and, well. . . I wondered if I could get a Kunoichi of my choice to train me?"

Jiji looked at me curiously. "I suppose it could be arranged. And who might you like to train you?"

"Well. . . do you have a Kunoichi named Mitarashi Anko?"

A shit-eating grin made its way to my face as I saw jiji pale down significantly. Yup, Anko was definitely the best choice for me.

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I got home extremely tired. That meeting with jiji was emotionally taxing. I laid down the box and decided to arrange everything tomorrow. I suddenly remembered that last scroll my dad said was a secret.

Opening the box once more, I took out the last scroll, the one at the bottom.

It was simply labeled as _Music_.

I raised my eyebrow at that but shrugged and opened the scroll.

There was something written at the very top.

"_Your mother had a beautiful voice, and I included some of her favorite songs here. I, myself, have simply favored the guitar over singing. I hoped that you have also gained our love for music."_

I smiled a sad smile. The only kind of music I ever played was the leaf whistle. I have never sung before, but maybe, when I'm sad, I could sing some of my mom's songs to myself. . .

* * *

_**AN: There you go, a kind of sad ending to a chapter. The prologue was extremely long, but I had a lot of ideas at that time. The chapters will be shorter, since I'm sort of aiming for quality instead of quantity. Hope you liked it. And leave a review before you exit please! Cause I'm pretty sure I made a lot of mistakes here. . . T_T**_

_**-Katana**_


	3. Chapter 2: Naruto or Naru?

_**Konoha's Dark Princess  
Date started: 06/12/13  
Date finished: 07/17/13**_

_**AN: O_O I have never had so many reviews just for one chapter. You guys are AMAZING. I promise, on my life, to never let you guys down and to finish this story. . . despite, of course, my chronic laziness. So I'll probably, most likely, be giving late updates. Not to despair, of course! There are a bunch of other better written FemNaru stories than this. I am proud of my work, though others may not agree so much with me. . .**_

_**Disclaimer: Why do you torture me so? I. . . I. . . I DO NOT OWN NARUTO T_T**_

_**Oh, and if you guys recognize something here, like a jutsu or the name of a kind of tai- or ken- jutsu style, it belongs to whoever thought of it first. If you don't recognize it, it belongs to me. Just a heads up.**_

_**Oh, and please read AN at the bottom.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Uzumaki Naruto. . . or is it Naru?**_

_**(Normal PO.V.)**_

_-6 months later-_

Naru smiled as she got ready for school that day. It was the day before her graduation exams or, more specifically, the day she painted on the faces of the Hokage monument. She had a fox-like grin on her face as she made her way to the Academy. The blonde was planning on doing the same thing again but, this time, she wouldn't get caught.

Naru used most of her free time away from training writing down all the major events she could remember, as well as some minor ones that could be of use. Things like whether or not she should get rid of Kabuto before he makes any kind of progress with capturing Sasuke, or if she should _try _to be on "friendlier" terms with the teme. There was also that long-term debate she had with herself if she should make some kind of contact with Gaara before the Chūnin Exams. And then she started thinking on what she should do about the Wave mission and Haku. . .

'_**Kit,' **_the fox growled out in annoyance.

Kurama had to constantly remind Naru that things will not always go according to plan so, more often than not, they kept ripping up old ones and making up new ones. In the end, the blond decided to improvise if she faced a situation that didn't happen originally. She'll try, of course, to keep things the same (without being an idiot), but events would probably go out of wack already cause of her being a Kunoichi now. It didn't matter either way, everyone always did say improvisation was what she does best.

Don't get her wrong. She doesn't care about the people who betrayed her trust and she could care even _less _about the villagers (with the exception of Teuchi-ojisan and Ayame-neechan, of course). But the fact was, there were innocent people out there. In other words, children. It wasn't their fault they shunned her, they were just listening to their parents. She would've done the same if she didn't know any better about the person. . .

And she won't give the villagers the satisfaction and peace they'll have in death. No, that will be too kind. She'll let them live in suffering and fear the same way they made her. Psychological wounds are much more painful than physical ones if left unattended. Like what Anko-neechan said, "They're a pretty big bitch to heal".

Despite there being quite a few innocents, her parents loved this Kami-forsaken village. Not to mention that the few precious people she had loved it too. So, in their honor, she'll help protect Konoha. It wouldn't do any good for her conscience if she let anyone (no matter how despicable) die either. Old morals are so hard to break. She wouldn't let Konoha be razed to the ground too. If only so the Sandaime could rest in peace when he dies.

But one way or another, she'll get retribution.

On that happy note, she was glad to say her training was going well.

She had about a 100 clones working on chakra control and re-mastering her old jutsus. She, herself, started working on Taijutsu and strengthening her speed and strength with weights and seals. Her dad's taijutsu style was the **Sūifutoken (Swift Fist)** which he used in conjunction with his Hiraishin and Wind Nature Chakra to hit muscle tendons to stop enemy-nin from moving. Her mother's, meanwhile, was the **Fūroken (Flow Fist)**, which weaves in and out of the opponents strikes as well as suddenly hitting them in extremely hurtful places unexpectedly.

Put those two together and you've got the **Dai Uzuken (Maelstrom Fist)**. An extremely cool taijutsu style that's fast, unexpected, and could either kill or incapacitate you. Depending, of course, on where you hit. Naru, for a few days, thought if she should name it **Narutoken**. But then again, people will think it's called the **Fishcake Fist **which is totally not cool.

Now if the blonde could somehow incorporate her mom's Kenjutsu style, she'll be quite happy.

Her mom's Katana was the **Ketsueki Sakenomi (Blood Drinker)**, which earned her the name **Aka no Shi (Red Death)**. The **Ketsueki Sakenomi (Blood Drinker) **was 6 feet tall that included the hilt of the blade. This katana had a blade in a blood-red color, unlike most katanas. The hilt was wrapped in a black guard with a small blue diamond at the top of the hilt but under the blade.

Now, you know how the Seven Swords of the Mist had different features on them that made them unique, right? Well, this blade is no different. If you press the diamond beneath the blade and add a little chakra to it, the hilt would separate from the blade, revealing a black dagger _inside_ the blade.

The dagger looked black but if shown in the right light, you would see a demonic purplish tint on it. The **Ketsueki Sakenomi (Blood Drinker)**, like the **Kubikiribōchō (Executioner's Blade)**, absorbs the blood of its victims and uses its iron to fix itself if it ever was damaged. The blood of any living being, however, does not only contain iron, but also contains toxins and other waste materials that have not been ejected from the body yet. When the blade drinks the blood, it separates the iron and the toxic part of the blood. The iron is used to enhance and/or sharpen the blade while the toxins would be absorbed by the dagger, thus making it extremely poisonous from all the toxins it has absorbed over the years.

Naru hasn't used it yet, but was itching to see how a human being would react to such a poison. Sasori and Orochimaru would have been green with envy if they had known about that blade.

Now, the style Kushina used for the sword was the **Nami-Ryū (Wave Style)**. She would basically go head to head with the opponent and weaken him with high strikes or sudden low strikes, all the while weaving in and out of the enemy's strikes until the killing blow or until the opponent faints from blood loss. Because of her high stamina, this style was perfect for her.

Now, if Naru places that Kenjutsu style with her Taijutsu style, it will now be christened as **Arashi-Ryū (Storm Style)**. A really awesome and kick-ass Kenjutsu style that makes you circle the opponent and surround him/her with a flurry of sword strikes that seem to make no sense but in the end, leaves you a lot of cuts, deep and shallow. The style counts on you being faster than your enemy, so Naru was still working on the defensive part of it.

It was still an experiment, but coming along quite nicely.

Genjutsu sucks for her, as usual.

The clones were re-mastering her other jutsus, as well as learning her parents' jutsus. Hiraishin was being a bitch, might take a few more months to get the formula right. Another few months just to master it and train her body to do it, so majority of the clones are working on the formula and she's working on her body. Senjutsu won't work for her until she's 15 or 16, so that's out.

Fūinjutsu was as good as ever, and still getting better. She was actually thinking of making a custom carrier for her sword that consisted of seals. It would be cool if she only had a foot-long dagger pouch on her and pulls out a 6-foot sword. And it could also be handy if the thing never broke, burned, or anything. And when she only needs the dagger part of her sword, no one would be suspicious if she pulls that out. This will need some planning. . .

She had also recently taken a liking to gardening, and had converted one of the neighboring apartments to her own greenhouse. After all, no one would want to live next to the "Demon" so she might as well put that apartment to good use. And if she had a greenhouse then she wouldn't have to buy rotten and/or overpriced vegetables. Plus, it was nice to see green stuff every once in a while as well as smell fresh fruit in the morning. She'll just use a **Henge** if she needed to buy things that she didn't have, or maybe go hunting in the forest.

And Naru had Anko-neechan to thank for all the (physical and mental) torture procedures. She couldn't wait to use everything she taught her.

Ever since the Sandaime filled Anko in about Naru's background, she insisted that the blonde call her "neechan". Apparently, the snake mistress always wanted an "imuoto" to teach all about the finer points of being a Kunoichi, as well as Torture & Interrogation. She also had some kind of sadistic pleasure in putting Naru through a training & diet regime called "Hell".

Suffice to say, Naru loved her neechan, and it doesn't hurt that Kyuubi approves of her as well.

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Naruto snickered to himself quietly when he noticed the havoc his **Kage Bunshin **caused outside the Academy window. The memories of his clone painting the Hokage's faces came to him and he was pleased that no one saw his clone.

'_Honestly, they're supposed to be __**Shinobi**__ of the Hidden Leaf Village. How could they have earned that kind of rank when they can't even see such a huge monument being vandalized? I mean, come on! It's right there on the freaking mountain for __**everyone **__to see!' _Naruto thought.

The classroom door suddenly opened and everyone (yes, even Shikamaru) looked over to see a Chūnin just beyond the door.

"Umino-san, has Uzumaki Naruto been seen in your class today?" the Chūnin asked frantically.

As Naruto's classmates turned their attention to look at him, Naruto scrunched up his face in confusion.

"Why, yes, he has been here ever since class started," Iruka replied, just as confused. "What's the matter?"

"Someone painted on the faces of the Hokage Mountain as a prank," the Chūnin said in a hurry.

The class was stunned that someone would actually do that to the Hokage. That is, they were stunned until Naruto busted up laughing. No one noticed that the laughter was slightly strained, as if forced.

"That's the best prank ever!" Naruto yelled out in between gasps of breath and laughter. "If you ever find the guy that did that, tell him he's my hero!" and he burst out laughing again.

Everyone in the room stared at Naruto in shock. Naruto, the village prankster, was not responsible for such a scandal? Only he would've been able to call this a prank!

The Chūnin apologized to Iruka for disrupting his class, threw a distasteful glance in Naruto's direction, and left. Naruto noticed the glance and managed to hide his scowl before anyone noticed.

"Now that there are no more disturbances," Iruka started. "Let's continue on with our last lesson before you graduate. What are the 5 different Chakra Natures a ninja could have? Sakura."

The pink-haired girl stood up. "The 5 different natures a ninja could use to perform jutsus are **Fire (Katon)**, **Water (Sūiton)**, **Earth (Doton)**, **Wind (Fūton)**, and **Lightning (Raiton)**."

"Correct," Iruka nodded approvingly as Sakura sat down. "Now, it is quite essential for Shinobi to know these Chakra Natures." Iruka had to hide a twitch when he noticed a certain blonde boy looking out the window and not paying attention. "Each nature can overpower another as well as be overpowered. Naruto, can you tell the whole class which chakra nature can overcome which?"

The whole class snickered and Iruka thought he saw a flash of anger in Naruto's eyes. When he looked closer, he only saw boredom, and thought it was a trick of the light.

Naruto continued to look out the window as he answered. "Fire beats Wind, Wind beats Lightning, Lightning beats Earth, Earth beats Water, and Water beats Fire. Of course, chakra natures don't matter all the time. If an enemy Shinobi uses a **Katon (Fire Style) **jutsu and you use a **Fūton (Wind Style) **one, as long as you put in a greater amount of chakra than your opponent, your jutsu could beat the enemy's."

Everyone gawked at Naruto. He was supposed to be a _dobe_, the _dead-last_. It was just not possible for him to know these things. Against nature, you could say.

Iruka cleared his throat. "Correct, Naruto. Right, so. . ."

Naruto smirked inwardly. He could practically feel the pairs of eyes staring or sneaking glances at him. He knew for certain that one pair belonged to Hinata. He felt sorry for her, really, once she finds out that "he" was actually a "she". The only people she could get along with okay were the Hokage, Baa-chan, Ero-sennin, Kakashi, Iruka-sensei, the people in Ichiraku, Hinata, Choji, Shino, Neji, and Lee. Maybe Tenten too, since they didn't really know each other that well, so she didn't actually betray her. Itachi too, probably, but. . .

'_**Don't think about Akatsuki now, Kit. We'll deal with them soon enough,' **_Kurama said gruffly.

'_Right, right. We'll have to focus on the events happening now. Plenty of time to deal with other nuisances.'_

At the end of the day, Iruka approached Naruto just outside of the Academy.

"Hey Iruka-sensei!" the blonde boy called out cheerfully.

"Hey, Naruto. . ." Iruka said, a bit nervously. "Listen, I need to talk to you. . ."

"Sure. . . as long as you treat me to a bowl of ramen," Naruto said, grinning.

Iruka smiled back. He was still Naruto.

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"Hey Teuchi-ojisan! Ayame-neechan!" Naruto yelled as he entered his favorite ramen shop.

"Naruto!" Teuchi greeted him back with a smile. "So, what'll it be today?"

"Iruka-sensei's paying so I'll just be having one bowl of miso ramen."

"Sure, sure. How about you, Iruka-san?"

"I'll be having the same, thanks."

Naruto and Iruka sat down as they waited for their food. The younger of the two humming happily as they did.

"Naruto, were you really responsible for that prank on the Hokage monument?" Iruka asked.

The blonde boy looked at him with a small grin. "I wish I thought of it. That was pure genius!"

"So you didn't do it?"

"Nope," Naruto replied, popping the "p".

After a few more minutes, the noodles came. Eating a bit, Iruka asked his next question, "So, how did you know about our lesson today?"

Outside, Naruto was slurping his noodles happily. Inside, Naru was scowling deeply at the insinuation in Iruka's words.

'_Seriously? Can't I __**be**__ smart every once in a while. I fucking hate stereotypes.'_

"_**Easy, Kit. Just play along for a while. You'll be able to drop the act soon enough."**_

"Oh, you know," Naruto said nonchalantly. "I overheard a sensei talking to his Genin team about it so I thought I'd do a bit of research on it. It wasn't _that_ boring, I guess, but still pretty boring."

Iruka nodded to himself, inwardly relieved. After all, Naruto only places so much effort in things that interest him. It was a normal reaction.

"So, do you have any idea on who actually _did_ paint on the Hokage's faces?"

"Not a clue, Iruka-sensei. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you," the blonde said with a cheeky smile.

"Naruto," the Chūnin sighed. "It's extremely disrespectful to even _think_ about it! Don't you know who the Hokage are?"

"Of course I do!" Naruto said, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu. "Basically, all of those guys are the strongest Shinobi of their time. And out of all of them, the 4th Hokage was the best because he saved the village from Ku – the nine-tailed fox."

Iruka didn't bother to ask how Naruto knew a lot about the Hokage. After all, it is quite known that he wanted to be the best Hokage.

(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)

Naruto stared out of the window again. The written portion of the graduation exam was, as usual, useless. The Taijutsu portion would've been easy if he wasn't holding back, and besides, "Naruto's" street-fighter style could easily beat the crap out of a civilian kid. He also held back at the Weaponry and Accuracy portion. Genjutsu was average, not too hard but not a walk in the park either. Coming up next was the Ninjutsu portion and, overall, the deciding factor of whether or not you graduate.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" Iruka called out.

Naruto stood up, stuffed his hands into the pockets of his orange pants, and walked into the separate room where the testing would take place quietly, much to the shock of his classmates. He smirked inwardly. He didn't know why people didn't like doing mind games much, they were really fun.

"Ok, Naruto. Please perform the **Henge no Jutsu**."

Naruto did the required hand sign and Henged into a carbon copy of Iruka. The real Iruka nodded approvingly and caught Mizuki's eye and both scribbled down a score.

"Now, please perform **Kawarimi **on that chair."

The blonde boy did as he said and switched with the chair before switching back.

Iruka was pleased at this outcome but also nervous about the next jutsu. "Now, please do the **Bunshin no Jutsu**."

Naruto took a deep breath before gathering his chakra.

(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)

Naruto sighed as he ran through the trees. He sat down in the middle of the clearing like he did the first time and removed the forbidden scroll from his back. Dispelling his **Henge**, a young girl with shoulder-length blonde hair in Naruto's jumpsuit sat there.

'_**Everything went according to plan, eh,' **_Kurama chuckled.

"Yeah," Naru said as she opened the Forbidden Scroll. Skipping over the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **and **Bunshin Daibakuha no Jutsu (Great Clone Explosion Jutsu)**, both of which she already knew, she tried to see if there was anything else worth learning.

* * *

_Magen: Jigoku no Kemuri ni Tengoku (Demonic Illusion: Heaven to Hell Smoke)_

* * *

'_**Why do you need to learn a Genjutsu Technique? I can teach you,' **_Kurama grunted.

'_I just want to learn at least one more forbidden jutsu from this thing. If it's a Genjutsu then all the better!'_

* * *

_Classification: Genjutsu/Interrogation Jutsu  
Maker: Yamanaka(?)  
Rank: S_

_- The user of the jutsu will create a smoky atmosphere around the opponent/s. When the opponent/s breathes in the smoke, the smoke will search through the recesses of their brains for their deepest desires. When the opponent/s sees their desire and realizes what is being attempted, the smoke will immediately change the vision to their greatest fears and/or worst memories, thus giving it the name "Heaven to Hell" -_

_Warning/s:  
- Uses up at least half of a Jōnin's average chakra capacity, depending on the person it is being casted on and the chakra capacity of said user  
- 70% chance the caster will see/experience the vision of the person it is being used on_

* * *

Naru scanned the instructions with a critical eye. This seems to be a promising jutsu.

'_This is pure genius. The guy must've been a Yamanaka to understand the brain so much and manage use leftover toxins inside the chakra and human body to create such an illusion. People often feel such euphoria when they smoke and forget about the consequences of such a thing.'_

"To actually make sentinel smoke that is able to sense when to change the vision. . ." Naru muttered aloud. The guy was real good.

"His jutsu is correct but it allows the person it is being cast on a leeway to get out of the Genjutsu. The moment the person this is being used on realizes that it is only a vision and manages to fight back, the smoke inside the body will immediately disperse, leaving no sign it was ever there," Naru thought aloud.

'_**This human is bright,' **_Kurama observed. _**'He will not be able to disperse the technique if it was meant as a decoy for him to get away, so he made it as such that the smoke would disappear and the technique would not be able to be reverse engineered and copied.'**_

'_Yeah. . .' _Naru thought back. "But I wonder. . . maybe we could change it a bit to make the Genjutsu affect all five senses instead of just sight. It might not literally hurt them, but through the memories they would actually _feel _the phantom pain of what happened. And maybe tweak it a little bit more to show. . . yeah. . . they might fall for that. . ." she trailed off, a brilliant idea forming in her head.

She made a clone and told it to start copying everything it could find inside the Forbidden Scroll and then seal it all up. She made another clone and started practicing the original idea of the Genjutsu. She'll study the Yamanaka guy's Genjutsu a bit more before she did a few tweaks to suit her needs. It might take a 100 or so clones a day for a few years to get it right, but if her theory was correct. . .

Let's just say it wouldn't matter anymore if she only knew one Genjutsu.

(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)I(=)

Iruka jumped through the trees when he saw something bright orange in a clearing.

"Naruto!" the scarred-face teacher cried out in both relief and anger. "I finally found. . . you. . ." he trailed off.

The kid was wearing Naruto's orange jumpsuit but. . .

Iruka was pretty sure Naruto was a boy.

"Hey Iruka-sensei!" the girl-in-Naruto's-jumpsuit chirped. She also sounded suspiciously like Naruto except in a much more. . . girly. . . tone.

Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache of epic proportions only Naruto of all people could give him. "Naruto, what are you doing in that Henge?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. . . I forgot. . ."

"Forgot what?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story. . ."

So Naru explained to Iruka about her being Henged all her life and that it was the Third's decision so that she would be safer from things that would remain unknown until she was older.

The Chūnin teacher pinched the bridge of his nose once more. He really needed to talk to the Sandaime why he never told him that Naruto was a. . . girl. Only Naruto would be in the middle of a mess like this but, for now. . .

"Naruto -"

"Naru," the blonde girl cut in and Iruka raised an eyebrow. "My real name's Naru."

"Alright then. Naru, as much as I would say I've known you all my life, I've only just known you are actually a girl. Now, what I want to know is, why did you steal the Forbidden Scroll?"

"Huh? You mean this thing?" Well, Mizuki-sensei told me all about it! He said that if I learned at least one thing from this scroll, you'd let me pass! Right?"

Iruka paled. _'Mizuki?'_

Several kunai suddenly came at the two and Iruka managed to push Naru out of the way but got hit instead.

"Nice job finding the moron!" Mizuki yelled from his position on a branch.

"I see. . ." Iruka muttered. "So that's what's going on. . ."

"Naruto!" Mizuki called out. "Give me that scroll!"

Naru stared blankly at him. _'He really is an idiot. He doesn't even notice I look different.'_

"Naru!" Iruka shouted. "Whatever happens, don't give him that scroll! That's a dangerous scroll, filled with Forbidden Jutsus! Mizuki used you to get his hands on it!"

"Naruto, there's no point in you having it. If you give me that scroll, I'll tell you the reason why everyone in this village hates you."

"No! Mizuki, don't!" Iruka yelled out desperately.

Mizuki ignored him. "12 years ago, the Yondaime Hokage sealed the Demon fox to save the village. Since that day, a special rule was made. But. . . this rule, was never meant to be known by you."

Naru stayed silent.

"The rule is that nobody is allowed to talk about the fact that you, Uzumaki Naruto, is the Kyuubi reincarnated!"

"Stop it!"

"It basically means that _you _are the demon fox. _You_ killed Iruka's parents that day. _You _were sealed up by the Hokage you admired and -"

"Mizuki, shut up!"

"- you have been lied to by _everyone_. Iruka's the same! He also hates you!" Mizuki finished and took out one of the demon wind shuriken on his back before throwing it at Naru.

Iruka moved in to protect her but when he didn't feel the hit, he turned around and saw that Naru had caught the large shuriken. Her hand was bleeding and her bangs shadowed her eyes.

"I already know about the fox," Naru said, much to the shock of everyone present. "I've known for a long time, the Sandaime himself having told me. And if Iruka-sensei really did hate me. . . why would he have gone all this way to find me before any of the other Shinobi did?" she looked up and only Mizuki was able to see her eyes flash a demonic red before turning back to its original cerulean color. "Iruka-sensei is one of the people who acknowledged me. If you ever even think of hurting him. . . I'll kill you."

"Ha! As if! I'll kill someone like you in one shot!"

Naru snorted. "If I'm the demon fox like you say I am. . ." she whispered before moving her hands into a familiar cross seal. ". . . then wouldn't I be able to kill you with a single seal?"

"Bring it on, demon fox!"

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)!**"

Thousands upon thousands of solid clones appeared in the clearing. There wasn't a single sound, nor a puff of smoke. It was like they just appeared out of thin air.

Such mastery of a jutsu was unheard of.

Iruka looked all around him in shock. _'Naru. . . you. . .'_

"Hey," the original called out, staring dispassionately at Mizuki. "Do whatever you want with him. I don't care if he's near death, just make sure he's alive enough to be interrogated by jiji."

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

Iruka smiled. _'You really did beat him with a single seal. Each and every one of those clones was a real body, not an illusion.'_

A black, blue, and red Mizuki was the result of Naru's hard work.

Naru the white-haired Chūnin at his side. "This is probably the best work of art I've seen yet. . . though I think I went a bit overboard.

"Hey Naru. . ." Iruka called out. "There's something I want to give you."

"Can I open my eyes _now_?"

"Fine, fine. Impatient little brat, you can open them now."

The blonde girl smiled a bit at that and slowly opened her eyes. She already knew what to expect. . .

"Congratulations on graduating!"

That didn't make it any less touching though.

"Let's celebrate! I'll treat you to a cup of ramen -"

Naru couldn't help it. Everything went exactly the same! Giddy with happiness, she tackled Iruka saying "Thank you" over and over again.

* * *

OMAKE - Anko's lesson: Interrogation

"So. . . how exactly do you interrogate someone?" Naru asked Ibiki curiously.

Ibiki shrugged. "My way is with mind games. Your sensei, on the other hand. . ." he trailed off as he watched Anko.

They had been talking at the Dango shop when Anko introduced interrogation to Naru. Ibiki had been there as well, since he was a veteran at the thing. When they had been served their dango though. . .

"AND THE SAUCE! YOU CALL THIS THING DANGO?! MY FUCKING TOILET BOWL OF SURPRISES TASTES BETTER THAN THIS SHIT YOU COOKED UP FOR ME! WHERE'S THE GUY WHO ACTUALLY KNOWS HOW TO COOK? ANSWER ME, SHITHEAD! AND IF YOU DON'T, I'LL CASTRATE YOUR BALLS OFF, SEW THEM BACK TOGETHER WITH CHAKRA, AND CUT THEM OFF AGAIN EVEN DEEPER!" Anko shouted out at the poor cook who was very pale and started stuttering.

Naru pitied the guy. He was the new cook, the old one apparently having been too expensive for this shop to keep any longer. The blonde took a bite out of the dango and winced. Anko was right, it tasted like month-old cardboard-turned-pizza. . .

Anko walked out of the kitchen, smirking as she held up a piece of paper. "And _that's _how you interrogate someone. C'mon, I got my favorite cook's address. And then you'll see how much better dango is than ramen."

Naru rolled her eyes but got up and followed her. In her mind, nothing will ever replace ramen. "So. . . Ibiki-san. . . mind telling me these mind games you were talking about?"

Ibiki smirked. He liked this kid, most of children her age didn't even want to use their heads. "I'll tell Anko to bring you over to the T&I HQ tomorrow. We got an incoming spy from Iwa. Those rock-heads are so fun to break. . ."

* * *

_**AN: My first Omake, so don't blame me if it's shit.**_

_**I'm mean, I know. I made some of you guys wait so long for this update only for it to stop so short. Well, next chapter's all about how Naru reacts to her classmates, team placements, meeting the senseis, etc. etc. etc.**_

_**And I'm curious. I got a review saying that the person liked Yuri stuff and started wondering about it too. Should I occasionally make Naru Henge into Naruto (dick and all) and make her do seduction missions on other Kunoichi? Just saying, cause with whatever you guys want, I can be flexible with it.**_

_**Oh, and I'm also planning to make a new Naruto fic, since me and my friends wanna, well. . . just read this. . .**_

_Yin Series – Naruto  
Full of OC packed action. Read as a group of six friends find themselves dreaming each night about what is supposedly a fictional anime, learn to be Kunoichi with various Kekkei Genkai for each of them, encounter problems about the Konoha nin and the Shinobi world, and romance. KibaxOCxHidan, SaixOCxDeidara, KankuroxOC, ItachixOCxShikamaruxOCxNeji (Note: Same OC), SasukexOC, GaaraxOCxSasori, PeinxKonan, NaruHina, TemarixOC, and a bunch of other undecided pairings._

_Sequel to this will be "Yin Series – Naruto Shippuden"_

_And I will add a humor-based story full of fillers called "Yin Series – Akatsuki"_

_**Well, actually I'm still planning on everything and don't worry about this Naruto fic and my Eyeshield one. I have school, bakas, and I suffer from chronic laziness and procrastinationitis. . . which, now that I think about it, isn't really an illness.**_


	4. STOP SOPA

**I AM SORRY BUT THIS IS NOT AN UPDATE**

I found this out from **Nemo Poison**'s story!

It is an important notice that will affect everyone on this sight and many others.

**Nemo Poison**:

I got a message from a fellow writer shadowwriter329 and saw more note and messages from even more, that SOPA is back. The bill that is threatening to take away our freedoms on the internet is back. Not only back, but it is trying to be passed quietly so nobody notices. SOPA will guarantee that anybody who streams a video, whether it be on youtube, a walkthrough for a video game, or a kid singing a song that is 'copyrighted' they will be treated as a felon. That is one of the highest form of criminal offensives for something as simple as uploading a video game walkthrough on youtube, playing a song with lyrics of your favorite artist and even one we all go on, this one right here.

I am telling everyone this because it effect us all here as Wattpad/FanFiction will being attacked as well. A Wattpad/FanFiction writer can being carted off to a maximum state prison for writing a character from Naruto into their fanfic, or a character from Bleach, or a character from One Piece, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, the list is endless. You think I an exaggerating? I assure you that if this passes it will not be long, not be long at all, because once this passes, then anything goes. Wattpad/FanFiction will be attacked for using canon characters in a fanon manner, authors will be arrested for writing a book whose main character has glasses just like in another series, artists will be arrested and confined for using sapphire blue in the iris of one of their characters like another author. This effect us all and we can not let it happen.

I figure some of you do not believe me and I can understand. I could be making this up for all you know. But I provided links below to show you I am telling the truth. Simply remove the spaces below, see for yourself.

: / www . huffingtonpost 2013/08/07/unauthorized-streaming-felony_n_3720479 . html

: / www . washingtonpost blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/08/05/sopa-died-in-2012-b ut-obama-administration-wants-to-revive-part-of-it /

: / www . techdirt articles/20130805/12472124074/administration-cant- let-go-wants-to-bring-back-felony-streaming-provis ions-sopa . shtml

: / www . youtube watch?v=1fTt4K4Cae4

We are not as powerless as we might think. We stopped SOPA before and we must do it again. Our stories, our ideas, our passion will be threaten. Everything from this to fan art to youtube is in danger of being gone forever.

I am asking you to spread the word and fight this assault on our freedoms. Because this isn't just going to affect Americans, it will affect everybody across the globe. Tell you friend, have they spread the word so we may stand up to fight this. It is our right as freedom of speech. We are not making money doing what we love, we do it because we enjoy it and want to spread our words, our ideas, our art to everyone who wishes to see it. but we can stop it but only if we stand together. Please my friends, my fellow reader and writers, don't let what we love be nothing but dust in the winds of time.

-Please spread the word and help us be free on the internet like she said we stopped it before lets do it again come darlings lets push SOPA back fight for our freedom!

Rewrite this and post on your story chapters for everyone else to see so we can stop SOPA!

shadowwriter329

g1rldraco7

Madam Jokudaime Kanaya Maryam

InuYoiushi

Ryoucutie4ever

puffin

Nemo Poison

anime-manga-lover-11


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